Fr. James Livingstone

Father James Wayne Livingstone departed this world on Saturday, February 7, 2026. He passed away after 17 months in Memory Care at Grand Living at Tower Place in West Des Moines.

Jim was born on May 2, 1939, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He called both Canada and the United States his home throughout his life, but he was a Canadian through and through.

From being a monk, high school teacher, to working in a halfway house, to being ordained into the priesthood of the Anglican Church of Canada and later the Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco, Jim had always gravitated towards helping others and doing God’s work.

But it was his family that brought happiness and comfort to his life. He married Virginia (Ginny) in 1972, knowing within weeks that she was the one he wanted to build a life and family with. They welcomed their daughter, Rebecca, in 1975. They moved to the US in 1981 where they followed Jim’s career from parishes in New Hampshire to South Carolina to the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2003, Jim became the first married priest in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In 2011, Jim and Ginny retired, moving to Des Moines, Iowa, to be close to their daughter. Not content with being retired, Jim served as a priest at St. Augustin’s in Des Moines for almost a decade.

Jim had a good life, did good while he was here, and will be sorely missed by those who knew him. He is survived by his loving wife, Virginia; their daughter, Rebecca (Matt Reiter); brother-in-law, Douglas Baldwin (Margaret and family), and cousin, Patricia French (and family).

A visitation will be held on Friday, February 13 from 4-5pm followed by a vigil service at 5pm at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home, 8201 Hickman Rd, Urbandale. A Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, February 14 at 10am at St. Augustin’s Church, 545 42nd St, Des Moines. Interment will take place in Canada at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or Mary’s Meals, two charities close to Jim’s heart.