A burial office with communion for Vernon and Deanna Gotcher will be at 9:30 am at St Martin-in-the-Fields, 223 S. Pearson Lane, Keller, Texas, 76248, on Friday, August 20, 2021. Everyone is asked to wear masks.
The Rev. Vernon Alfred Gotcher, Ph.D, died December 6, 2020. Deanna Gotcher died January 14, 2021.
Vernon Gotcher was the founding rector of St. Stephen’s in 1966 when they met in a former bait and tackle shop on Grapevine Highway. Even before the diocese began officially reorganizing in early 2009, Gotcher had come out of retirement to be priest in charge at St. Stephen’s. He serve them in two locations, until finally they moved into their own building at 463 Harwood Drive in Hurst.
As Vernon Gotcher ministered to his congregations, Deanna Gotcher also served in many roles — as a lay reader, a lay eucharistic minister, and on the altar guild. She was devoted to the Daughters of the King. She often accompanied her husband on visits to the sick and dying.
The Gotchers were honored by the people of St. Stephen’s on Saturday, September 27, 2014, at a dinner at Diamond Oaks Country Club in Haltom City.
The Gotchers were especially moved by the announcement that the sacristy in St. Stephen’s new building would be dedicated in their honor. Vernon Gotcher responded with his thanks, and his introduction of Deanna, “the chaplain of my soul.” Deanna Gotcher replied, “Well, if I’m the chaplain of his soul, he is the captain of mine.”
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