The Rev. Dr. Thomas Jarl Sheppard Mikelson, Minister Emeritus, First Parish in Cambridge, age 84, of Belmont, died April 17, 2020. He is survived by his spouse, Patricia Sheppard, of Belmont; son, Dana Mikelson, and his partner, Michael Chase, of Washington, DC; son, Joel Mikelson, and his spouse, Frances DeChoudens, of Loxahatchee, FL; daughter, Kelly Mikelson, and her spouse, Abraham Wickelgren, their children, Maya Mikelson, and Justin Wickelgren, of Austin, TX; and, daughter, Arwen Duffy, and her spouse, Sean Duffy, and their children, Jack Duffy and James Duffy, of Valencia, CA. He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen (Henry) Mikelson and his father, Clarence Harvey Mikelson.

He was ordained a Unitarian Universalist Minister in 1971 and served the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City from 1971 to 1983. He was an Interim Minister at First Parish Brookline, First Parish Dedham, and, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs. He was Senior Minister at First Parish Cambridge from 1989 to 2006. He received his Doctor of Theology degree from Harvard Divinity School with a thesis on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.