John Ringrose was first layman chancellor
By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald
John Norman Ringrose, former chancellor of the Diocese of Honolulu, died on July 23 in Nixa, Mo. He was 62.
A native of Ottawa, Canada, Ringrose came to Hawaii in 1999 to serve as a judge in the diocesan marriage tribunal. Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo appointed him chancellor in 2000. He retired in 2007 and moved to Missouri with his wife Betty Ann.
Betty Ann Ringrose is planning a memorial Mass and burial of his ashes in Hawaii at some future date.
Bishop DiLorenzo appointed Ringrose as a tribunal judge on Aug. 1, 1999. At the time, he had been a judge for two years on the marriage tribunal for the Archdiocese of Winnipeg.
Prior to gaining his licentiate in canon law from St. Paul University in Ottawa in 1997, Ringrose had earned degrees in economics and business, served in the Canadian military, worked as an electrician and bought, sold and managed real estate. He was also a coach with the Canadian Olympic weightlifting team in the mid-1970s.
Bishop DiLorenzo named Ringrose as chancellor in July of 2000. He was the first layman to hold the position in Hawaii. As such, he was director of the diocesan archives and served as the official notary for the diocese, witnessing the signing of important documents.
He also granted special permissions and dispensations for the performing of weddings and marriages in the diocese and wrote a series of articles on marriage annulments for the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
Ringrose married Betty Ann Leo in Hawaii in 2002.
In 2004, Bishop DiLorenzo named Ringrose as promoter of justice ad causam on the tribunal overseeing the exhumation of the body of Mother Marianne Cope of Molokai, in anticipation of her beatification the following year.
He was also a member of the diocesan tribunal that investigated the sudden cancer cure of Audrey Toguchi, which Pope Benedict XVI later approved as the miracle needed to canonize Blessed Damien.
Ringrose is survived by his wife Betty Ann, daughter Julie Ringrose, stepsons Matthew and Glenn Leo, grandchildren Miranda and Matthew Leo, and his brother William Ringrose.
Condolences may be sent to Betty Ann Ringrose, 302 North Maplecrest Drive, Nixa, MO 65714-8580.