Morehouse, Clifford P.

Clifford P. Morehouse was born on April 18, 1904 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Harvard in 1925 and received a master’s degree from Marquette in 1937. Some thirty years later he earned his doctorate from General Theological Seminary.

After graduating from Harvard, Clifford joined his father at the recently renamed Morehouse Publishing Company. He would go on to serve many roles in the company over the years, including taking over as editor of The Living Church after his father’s death in 1932, a position he held until 1952. It was at that time that Morehouse moved his family from Milwaukee to New York to assume a larger role in the company, which was then known as Morehouse-Gorham Co., first as vice president (1952-1964) then as president (1964-1970). After his retirement in 1970, he accepted the position of Chairman and remained involved with the company for several more years.

During his life he remained a steadfast and dedicated member of The Episcopal Church, being elected President of the House of Deputies by unanimous vote at the 1961 General Convention in Detroit and again in St. Louis in 1964. At the time he was only the second lay person to serve in that role. After he declined to run for re-election in 1967, he was elected to membership on the Church’s Executive Council where he served until 1973.

Clifford P. Morehouse died on February 17, 1977. In its obituary, the New York Times described Morehouse as “one of the best-known laymen in the Episcopal Church.”