The Rev. Kenneth Nehemiah Bird died February 3 at the home of his sister, Rosalee Okamaw, in Montreal Lake following a long illness. He was 75.

Mr. Bird served as Incumbent of St. Joseph's Parish, Montreal Lake, from 1996 until his retirement in 2002. During his incumbency the beautiful new church there was constructed.

A fluent reader of syllabics, Nehemiah was the last unilingual Cree priest in our Diocese's history.

Mr. Bird's wife Lena predeceased him in the mid-1980s. 

His brother-in-law and close friend in the ministry was the Rev. George Roberts, the late incumbent of Sturgeon Lake First Nation, who was married to Mr. Bird's older sister, Maria.  Maria Roberts also died this week of natural causes, at age 92, February 4. 

Please pray for the Bird family and give thanks for his life, service, and love for our Lord and his Church.

Mr. Bird will be buried from St. Joseph's, Montreal Lake, on Wednesday February 6 at 2 p.m.