Rev. Sharline A. Fulton

The Rev. Sharline Alahverde Fulton passed away peacefully on January 19, 2025 at the age of 91 at the Foulkeways retirement community in Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. A longtime resident of Chestnut Hill, Fulton was active for over forty years at the Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Fulton was born on January 8, 1934 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Evany Alahverde and Rose Louise Nader Alahverde, and stepfather Soski Piroeff. She was predeceased by her brother Evany Alahverde, first husband and father of her children James Albert Fulton, their son James Armstrong Fulton, and second husband John Hausner. She is survived by son Andrew Evan Fulton, daughter Lynn Fulton, grandchildren Vanessa Fulton McFate, Adrienne Fulton, and Evan Fulton, and great-grandchildren Lucille Ruth McFate and Felix James Fulton.

After Fulton finished high school in 1951 she joined the Roxy Summer Stock Theater in New York, performing on tour with the “Roxyettes” from Montreal to New Jersey. In 1955, she trained as an RN at Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing and worked as an OR nurse at Bryn Mawr Hospital. A successful kidney transplant recipient herself, she continued to support the cause of organ donation throughout her life.

She earned a BA Cum Laude in psychology from Villanova University in 1979 and a Master of Divinity at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in 1982. She served as both a seminarian intern and Deacon at St. Martin’s, where she was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. She subsequently served as Assistant Rector at St. Asaph’s Bala Cynwyd, Interim Rector at St. Peter’s Philadelphia, Rector at St. Andrew’s Yardley, and Rector at the Church of the Redeemer Springfield. She also actively contributed to the work of the Diocese of Pennsylvania in numerous ways over the years. 

Upon retirement in 1997, Fulton returned to St. Martin’s as an Assisting Priest, where she also served as a spiritual director to many. A member of Spiritual Directors International and lifelong learner, she continued her graduate studies, earning a Certificate in Spiritual Direction at the Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth in 1995, and an M.A. in Spiritual Direction from Creighton University, Omaha, in 2001. 

Strongly impacted by her own Christian Armenian/Assyrian heritage, Fulton was also deeply committed to the mission of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ), actively supporting their work and making numerous trips to the Holy Land where she volunteered at St. George’s Episcopal Cathedral and College in East Jerusalem.

Fulton was well known and beloved in the Chestnut Hill community and beyond. She had a true gift for friendship and a keen wit. She was a deeply spiritual and passionate advocate for peace and social justice based on her unshakeable faith in a loving and merciful God. 

A memorial service will be held at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed in her memory to the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (https://afedj.org/).