A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Aug. 31 at 11 a.m. in St. Jerome Church, West Long Branch, for Father Robert Alfred Pearson, a priest of the Diocese who died Aug. 28. He was 92.
Father Pearson was formerly an Anglican priest who was incardinated as a married convert into the Diocese of Trenton in 1986 and served as a parochial vicar in Precious Blood Parish, Monmouth Beach.
Born in 1927 in Flint, Mich., Father Pearson held a bachelor of science, master of divinity and bachelor of sacred theology degrees. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. He attended seminary and was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1957 and served in missions and parishes in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 1978, he was ordained a priest in the Antiochian Orthodox Church, and in 1986, he was accepted as a priest for the Diocese of Trenton. He retired from active ministry in 1999.
Prior to the 11 a.m. funeral Mass, a viewing will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Father Vincent Euk, pastor of St. Veronica Parish, Howell, will be principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass. St. Jerome Church is located at 245 Wall Street, West Long Branch.
Father Pearson is survived by his wife, four children and 10 grandchildren. Burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery, West Long Branch.
Memorial donations may be made to Human Life International, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Va., 22630 or by visiting hli.org.