Stephen H. Jecko

Stephen Hays Jecko (January 15, 1940 – June 7, 2007) was the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Florida and the 892nd bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, a province of the Anglican Communion.

Early years Stephen Jecko was born on January 15, 1940, in Washington, D.C. He learned to fly at an early age, unofficially soloed at 13 and was granted a private pilot's license at the minimum required age of 16. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, married his wife, Joan and the couple had two sons, Sean and Bryan. Jecko was called to the ministry while working as a draftsman. His workspace was near a window that looked down on a church altar with a painting of Jesus, which was his inspiration to join the clergy.

Florida Father Jecko was called to be rector St. Michael's Church in Gainesville, Florida, in 1984 and served there until he was named Assistant to Bishop Cerveny in 1990. When Bishop Cerveny announced his plans to retire, Father Jecko was elected Coadjutor bishop on December 11, 1993, and consecrated on May 7, 1994, as the 7th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. Soon after his consecration as bishop, he was awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary and Virginia Theological Seminary, then a third D.D. from Sewanee: The University of the South less than a year later.

The bishop has an obligation to visit every parish in the diocese regularly. He used his pilot's license to help fulfill that duty by flying to distant parishes. Bishop Jecko was also a leader in the creation of the Anglican Communion Network in 2004.

Bishop Jecko was diagnosed with cancer in early 2007, and the treatments appeared to be successful. However, complications developed quickly and he died on June 7, 2007, at Baylor Regional Medical Center.