Longtime northern bishop Chris Williams dies at 89

J Christopher R Williams - Yellowknifer

May 22, 1936 – May 16, 2026 The Rt. Rev. John Christopher Richard Williams passed away peacefully on May 16th, 2026, concluding a lifetime of devoted service to the Anglican Church and the people of Canada’s North. Inspired by a ceramic-igloo coin bank he saw at college, Williams emigrated from England in 1960 to serve as an Anglican missionary. To Inuit parishioners, he became known as Supuuktutilik (the one with a pipe) ministering parishes in…

Longtime northern bishop Chris Williams dies at 89

Retired Bishop John Christopher Richard Williams died in Yellowknife on May 16, six days short of his 90th birthday. Born in Cheshire, England, Williams first travelled north as an Anglican missionary, according to an obituary by the McKenna Funeral Home. He then became a priest in Salluit (then called Sugluk), in Nunavik. People came to know him as Supuuktutilik, the man with a pipe, as he ministered parishes in Nunavik, Nunavut and the Northwe…