DJ Furnish was born August 25, 1921 in Plano, Illinois. She graduated from Merrill Junior High, Rock Falls, IL (1935); Parker High School, Chicago (1939); Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA (1943) and Garrett-Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (MA, 1945). Dorothy Jean served as Director of Christian Education (DCE) at Trinity Methodist Church, Hutchinson, KS, from 1945-52, as Assistant Professor of CE, Nebraska Wesleyan University (1952-57), and DCE, First Methodist Church, Lincoln, NE (1952-65). In 1968 she received a Ph.D. in Religion from Garrett-Northwestern where she taught until she retired (1991). Professor Emerita Furnish published a history of the rise of the profession of director of religious education in the 20th century. She also published three books on her progressive theory of teaching the Bible to children, leading many workshops, always accompanied by her guitar. She was an avid camper, hiker and photographer who loved Rocky Mt. National Park. Dr. Furnish died on January 3, 2011. She is survived by her partner of 50 years, Dr. Mary Jo Osterman, Louisville; her brother, Dr. Victor Paul Furnish, Dallas, TX; two nieces, Brianna Furnish, Grosse Point Park, MI and Rebecca Furnish McNeal, Dallas; great-niece and nephew, Kailey and Evan McNeal, Dallas. She was preceded in death by her baby sister, Charlotte (1926), her father, the Reverend Reuben McKinley Furnish (1961), and her mother, Mildred Lorraine Feller Furnish (1985).
Dorothy Jean “DJ” Furnish, 3 January 2011
