Rev. Timothy Pickering, 85

The Rev. Timothy Pickering, 85, of Newtown Square, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr for 21 years, died of pulmonary fibrosis Monday at Paoli Hospital.

Mr. Pickering, who was appointed rector in 1967, was hardworking and devoted to his congregation, his son Timothy Jr. said. He gave straightforward and reliable counsel, his son said, and comforted many families through difficult times. He also had a sense of humor, and it was a running joke that his blessings over a parishioner's old Buick Skylark kept it running like a Mustang, his son said.

Mr. Pickering was born into a prominent New England family. When asked why he became a minister, he would relate his adventures after college when he sailed a small schooner from Nova Scotia to Key West. "On the open ocean in a 29-foot boat," he said, "God has some degree of appeal."

Mr. Pickering grew up in Salem, Mass., in a home that had been in his family since 1651. His ancestor Timothy Pickering was a Revolutionary War officer who became secretary of state under Presidents George Washington and John Adams.

Mr. Pickering earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University. He graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary after serving in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II.

After his ordination in 1951, he ministered in churches in Ohio and established a church in a rural area near Toledo. Under his leadership, the mission church of 20 families grew into one of the strongest parishes in the diocese, his son said.

After retiring in 1988, Mr. Pickering pursued his longtime study of the poet Robert Browning. He was treasurer of the Browning Society in New York until recently.

For years he cared for his wife, Sarah Sulger Pickering, who suffered a stroke in 1989. The couple had been married 57 years when she died in 2007.

Mr. Pickering served on the boards of the Episcopal Community Services; the Dolphins of Delaware Valley, an organization of volunteers who visit the homebound; and the Pickering Foundation, which owns his ancestral home in Salem. He was also on the board of Dunwoody Village, a retirement community in Newtown Square where he had lived for more than 10 years.

For 45 years he enjoyed summers at his family home in Friendship, Maine.

In addition to his son, Mr. Pickering is survived by another son, John; a daughter, Ann; six grandchildren; and a brother.

A funeral will be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 230 Pennswood Rd.