The Rev. Canon Herbert J. Beadle Jr., Episcopal priest who headed addiction recovery center

In his four decades as an Episcopal priest in Atlanta, the Rev. Canon Herb Beadle distinguished himself in many ways.

He was director of St. Jude's Recovery Center for alcohol and drug addiction treatment. He was a canon at the Cathedral of St. Philip. He was vicar at Emmaus House, a neighborhood ministry. He was a chaplain at Lovett School. He was a baritone soloist at All Saints Episcopal Church. Even in retirement, he led services at churches when their pastors needed a Sunday off.

In all these roles, he remained upbeat yet realistic, advocating for the disadvantaged and poking fun at pomposity and sanctimoniousness. "Herb practiced a sleeves-rolled-up, let's-confront-challenges-honestly Christianity," said Bob Simpson, former St. Philip's music director now at Houston's Christ Church Cathedral.

Herbert J. Beadle Jr., 86, of Atlanta died March 16 at Hospice Atlanta of complications from a heart attack. A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Philip. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Emmaus House, 1017 Hank Aaron Drive, Atlanta, GA 30315-1705. H.M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe Hill, is in charge of arrangements.

Born and reared in Texas, Canon Beadle was a medical supply officer at Camp Pendleton, Calif., during World War II. Witnessing the suffering of the wounded moved him to become a priest and a pacifist, said his wife, Fran McDowell-Beadle.

After serving as pastor at three churches in Texas, Canon Beadle came to Atlanta in 1967 to run St. Jude's. "There was a time that St. Jude's might have shut down for lack of financial support, but Herb kept it going through hard work and dedication," said Betty Guffin of Cumming, a former social worker at St Jude's.

"Herb treated each person he encountered with respect," she added. "He made you feel as if you were the only person in the world when he talked with you. He made St. Jude's clients feel important and changed hundreds of lives for the better."

Years later, Canon Beadle received a phone call from a former St. Jude's resident who said he had maintained his sobriety, married and had children, and pursued a successful career in the Navy, all thanks to Canon Beadle and the St. Jude's program. It was the most stirring success story her husband ever heard, said Mrs. McDowell-Beadle.

Mr. Simpson said that when Canon Beadle came to St. Philip's in 1983, he brought a concern for the less fortunate to what he called "a congregation of the blessed."

"After his experience at St. Jude's, Herb's approach as a pastor was to practice tough love," said the Rev. David Chamberlain of Columbus, a former cathedral colleague. "Herb didn't put up with any foolishness. His objective was to help people help themselves through the power of the Holy Spirit."

Canon Beadle's sermons at the cathedral had a fairly constant theme, he said. "Herb encouraged our parishioners to get involved, to act out their faith and not to be passive or pocketbook Christians."

In retirement, Canon Beadle created a newsletter he called Collar Off, an informal missive that he wrote in the evening after removing his Episcopal collar. He filled this six-page, single-spaced quarterly publication, which grew in circulation to 200 of his closest friends, with a mixture of editorials and sermons on his favorite social-justice causes; reflections on religion news; pithy reviews of books, recordings and movies; and reminiscences of his Texas boyhood.