A devoted member of the Anglican Church of Bermuda worked behind the scenes in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Hamilton, serving in a variety of church roles across decades.

Walter Carlington was remembered by Lawson Mapp, a former server in the church and an ex-mayor of Hamilton, as a stalwart who was “attached to the Cathedral for all of his life”.

Mr Mapp told The Royal Gazette that Mr Carlington started out as a teenager when he was trained as an altar boy and acolyte under church officials the late Leonard “Dickie” Tucker, Geoffrey Styles and the Reverend Canon James Manning, later Bishop of Bermuda.

“Walter was also a member of the Cathedral Vestry and treasurer of the Guild of the Good Shepherd,” he added.

Mr Mapp recalled his friend’s involvement in the Cathedral Youth Group in the 1970s that “took its members to various places of learning — including a visit to the Bermuda Bakery on Pitts Bay Road, where Randy Francis was in charge of production”.

Mr Carlington was fascinated by the elaborate machinery transporting dough to the ovens and then transporting the finished loaves to be wrapped.

“This was a source of enlightenment to Walter, who got a job at the same bakery and stayed for more than 40 years,” Mr Mapp said.

Mr Carlington carried out many of the roles within the church that extended back to its antiquity.

He was a devoted crucifer — the cross-bearer who carries the ceremonial crucifix on a staff for processions at the beginning and end of services — and a sacristan, the officer charged with care of the sacristy, the room to prepare for church services.

His role included preparing the vestments and chalice for Holy Communion.

Mr Mapp said: “Additionally, he oversaw the refurnishing of our kitchen, the building and grounds, and the sound system — now passed on to Sharon, his niece.”

Mr Carlington’s service to the church spanned the tenures of four bishops: Christopher Luxmore, William Down, Ewen Ratteray and the Right Reverend Nicholas Dill.

His love of the water showed when Mr Carlington took part in the Blessing of the Boats ceremonies and he was a keen follower of powerboat racing.

He was also a member of the Bermuda Orchid Society.

Bishop Dill summed up the character of Mr Carlington in recent times as “joyful in adversity”.

In a notice sent to churches on the announcement of his friend’s death, the clergyman wrote: “Despite being weak and unwell, he has continued in service to the Lord he loved and the cathedral where he has served for most of his life.

“He would be here every Sunday possible, without fail.

“This last Sunday, the last thing the congregation heard was his voice singing ‘Go in the love and peace of Christ’, to which we all replied, ‘Thanks be to God’.

“Well, Walter is now in the love and peace of Christ and we have so much to be thankful for.”

Bishop Dill added in the notice: “There wasn’t an inch of this church that his hands had not touched.

“His practical knowledge and servant-hearted approach meant that he was the ultimate ‘go to person’ for any question about the fabric of the building, the history of its care.

“Liturgically he was effectively the warden of acolytes, the deacon of the Mass and the Bishop’s chaplain.

“A master of technology, he ensured that we could all hear and participate in the services offered, whether in church or over the radio, for Sundays or funerals and weddings.

“As a guild member he was dutiful and faithful. As a vestry member, insightful.

“He had a faithful and willing heart, a beaming smile and a testimony in his life of the Lord’s goodness to him.

“It was a joy to see him and you knew when he arrived that things were going to go smoothly, whether that arrival was in a car, on an electric scooter or his vintage motorbike.”

Bishop Dill told the Gazette: “He always had a story to tell and, with humour, would recount things from the past — even painful things — with grace and humility.

“He never pushed his own agenda on you but was always respectful, faithful.”

The bishop added that Mr Carlington was "never one to sit still, with a broad range of interests from orchids to ham radio to motorbikes“.

He said: “I will truly miss his smiling face and that proclamation that came out whenever asked ‘how are you?’, he would say — even in the midst of his latest health issues — ‘I’m great’.

“His testimony was always one that trusted that God has ‘got this’ and God had seen him through many experiences in his life, both with his health and otherwise.”

Mr Carlington was an avid traveller with his wife, Delores, including a recent voyage along the Amazon River. The couple have a son, Scott.

Walter George Livingston Carlington, a longstanding member of the Anglican Church of Bermuda, was born on March 23, 1944. He died in March 2025, aged 80