The Rev. Jo H. Campe III, who overcame addiction and revived the Central Park United Methodist Church in St. Paul, died June 24 from a respiratory illness. He was 79.

Rev. Jo Campe

In 2000, the United Methodist minister decided to center St. Paul’s oldest Methodist congregation around the 12-step recovery process, which Campe knew would help people like himself.

A driving factor for that decision was Campe’s relationship with a janitor at the church who struggled with his recovery. The janitor couldn’t stay sober and eventually died from alcohol poisoning.

Campe got angry at addiction, according to a friend, Bob Swoverland.

“He became a warrior, if you will,” Swoverland said. “He was willing to go anywhere, in front of anyone, and share the hope of recovery.”

Campe also helped establish the Minnesota Recovery Connection, an organization led and governed by representatives of local recovery communities.

Campe used to hold classes at the Christ Recovery Center in St. Paul, where men can come off the streets to get clean and sober, staying as long as they need, said Ted Garner, a friend and sponsor.

Campe had a sense of humor, according to friends. He’d often open his sermons with a joke, many of them either “in poor taste” or “just bad”, said Swoverland.

“He’s going to be missed by a lot of people,” Garner said. “A lot of us, myself included, have gotten conditioned to losing people. This one is hard to take.”

Campe was born Jan. 11, 1945, in Minneapolis. He is survived by two adult children, Joey and Molly, as well as grandchildren Kai and Ruby, siblings Chris and Annette and a golden retriever, Cedar.

He was also known for his love for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. At age 14, he and a friend spent a few weeks in the boundary waters alone, without a tent, according to daughter, Molly Campe. When Molly was just 3-years old, Campe brought her up to the boundary waters for the first time, igniting her love for the wilderness.

A celebration of life will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at the Recovery Church in St. Paul.

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