Remembered for a life of service marked by humility, courage and enduring faith
June 4, 1933 – January 7, 2026
Rt. Rev. Frank S. Cerveny, sixth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, passed away on Jan. 7, 2026. He was 92 years old.
Cerveny was born to Frank Charles Cerveny and Julia Victoria Ludwig Cerveny in Ludlow, Mass. His family attended Christ Church Cathedral, where he sang in the choir as a boy. Cerveny married his wife, Emmy Pettway Cerveny, and together they raised three children in the home they created here in Jacksonville along the St. Johns River. They were married for 64 years; Cerveny often said Emmy was the one who taught him to love life.
Frank graduated cum laude from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and though he was accepted to Yale Law School, he chose to attend General Theological Seminary. He graduated with honors and later received five honorary doctorates.
In 1958, Frank began his ordained ministry at the Church of the Resurrection in suburban Miami Shores before moving on to New York City’s Trinity Parish in 1960, where he became deeply involved with inner-city work, particularly among the poor of Brooklyn, Chinatown, and Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Three years later, he was called to Jackson, Tennessee. While there, he worked tirelessly for the integration of churches and racial reconciliation at the height of segregation. The Cerveny family moved to Knoxville in 1968, where Frank assisted in forming an ecumenical coalition to foster missional partnerships across the city while ministering at St. John’s Church.
In 1972, Frank became Dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville; in 1974, he was consecrated as Bishop of Florida.
Bishop Cerveny’s life reflected the Gospel he preached – marked by vision, unity, and compassion. He strengthened the Diocese of Florida, supported healing and outreach ministries, and walked alongside the marginalized. His steady, faith-filled leadership left an enduring imprint on the Church near and far.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, June Hammett and Gloria Falcone; and his beloved grandson, Clay Norum Block Cerveny.
He is survived by his wife, Emmy; by their three children, Frank S. Cerveny, Jr. (Gretchen), Emmy Cerveny Gilbert (Barritt), and William “Billy” DeMoville Pettway Cerveny (Charla); and by grandchildren William Barritt Gilbert, Jr. (Sophie), Anne-Elizabeth Patten Gilbert Garza (Luis ), Thomas Cerveny Gilbert, Mary Harbin Gilbert, Frank Charles Cerveny, Katherine Grace Cerveny, Emmy Lampley Cerveny, William “Wiley” DeMoville Pettway Cerveny, Jr., Carolina Scout Cerveny.
