Father J. Edwin Thayer Tewes, former parochial vicar at Holy
Trinity Church in Gainesville before taking a medical leave of absence in May
2018, died Aug. 17. He was 65.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be offered
Aug. 27 at Holy Trinity at 11 a.m. Viewing will be held at the church Aug.
26 beginning at 4 p.m. The rosary will be recited at 6:30 p.m. and the vigil service will be at
7:30 p.m. He will be interred at Fairfax Memorial Park.
He was born March 27, 1954, to Joseph William Tewes Jr. and Betty
Thayer in Washington. He grew up near Chain Bridge with his brother Joseph and
sister Elizabeth Stross and lived in the same house for 23 years. He attended
Our Lady of Victory School for grade school before attending Georgetown
Preparatory School in Washington where he played varsity tennis. After high
school, he attended George Mason College of the University of Virginia, and The
Catholic University of America in Washington’s Institute of Liturgical Music
where he received his certificate in 1974.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1978 from
Stonehill College in North Easton, Mass., and a master’s in synthetic organic chemistry
from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., in 1980. He conducted research at New
Mexico State University in Las Cruces and worked as a chemist.
Father Tewes returned to Virginia to teach at Bishop Ireton High
School in Alexandria (1985-91). While there, he coached tennis and led the team
to five VCHSL state championships. He entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in
Emmitsburg, Md., where he earned his master’s of divinity in 1996.
During his time in the seminary, he spent a summer at St. Peter
Church in inner city Baltimore, where he volunteered at a drug rehabilitation
center. He also spent a year as a transitional deacon at St. Leo the Great
Church in Fairfax and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John R. Keating
at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington May 18, 1996.
Father Tewes served as parochial vicar of St. Mary of the
Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg (1996-2000), St. Timothy Church in
Chantilly (2000-04), St. Luke Church in McLean (2004-06), St. Ambrose Church in
Annandale (2006-10), St. Francis de Sales Church in Purcellville (2010-15), and
Holy Trinity (2015-18).
In his spare time, Father Tewes enjoyed collecting stamps and
coins. A music lover, he played the piano, soprano and tenor recorder and piano
accordion. He loved Star Trek, Pope John XXIII and church history.
