Dorcas Martin Good Obituary (1938 - 2022)

Dorcas Arlene Martin Good, 84, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 13, 2022, at VMRC's Mumaw House in Woodland Park, where she was a resident. Mrs. Good was born on July 14, 1938, in Hagerstown, MD, to the late Clyde H. and Fanny Horst Martin. Dorcas had a happy childhood; her parents and extended family led by example and teaching, in Christian living and ways of service to God. She became a Christian and was a member of Cedar Grove Mennonite Church of Greencastle, PA. Her father was drafted by the U.S. government near the end of WWII and took a conscientious objector status with a farm deferment. Dorcas was grateful that her father took this position, which set a strong example for his children. Dorcas' mother's family was a singing family. Her grandfather, Samuel H. Horst, was a community music teacher and taught from the Time and Tunes songbook, which was popular at all family gatherings. Dorcas graduated from Eastern Mennonite High School (Harrisonburg, VA) in 1956, and from Eastern Mennonite University in 1963 with a BS in Elementary Education. She made a career of teaching in both public and private schools, mostly Kindergarten and First Grade. After retiring from teaching for more than 30 years, she was a Children's Librarian for a public library in Henrico County, VA. Dorcas met the love of her life, James M. Good, while attending EMU and they married in 1961. In the early years of their marriage Dorcas and Jim were Voluntary Service leaders in eastern Kentucky working with a small Mennonite church and doing community outreach. They moved to Richmond, VA in 1969 and lived there 37 years, raising their family and each teaching school in various capacities. Dorcas was involved with many service organizations during their years in Richmond, with Eastern Henrico FISH, an emergency crisis ministry run by local churches, being her primary focus for more than 3 decades. She was a member of First Mennonite Church of Richmond where she taught Sunday school, summer Bible school, led worship and hymn singing, and served on the church council and in various outreach activities. In the late 1970s she led the church's efforts in resettling a refugee family of eight from Vietnam. She kept in touch with them regularly over the years following the church's formal involvement. In 1999 Dorcas was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. She was treated successfully for a relapse in 2011. Jim and Dorcas moved to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, VA in 2006. They lived in Park Village, until their recent moves to Crestwood and then Woodland Park, and became members of Ridgeway Mennonite Church. In Harrisonburg, Dorcas volunteered with People Helping People, at Booksavers with children's books, and with the Virginia Mennonite Conference Center and Virginia Mennonite Missions. She was Ridgeway's Outreach Commissioner and served on the church council for several years. Dorcas was diagnosed with a rare lung condition in 2012, which required her to be on oxygen for the last 10 years of her life. As these things forced her to limit her activities, she never lost her positive outlook and desire to continue to care for others and socialize with family, friends, and VMRC residents. God guided Dorcas' life in many ways: her 61 year marriage to Jim; her wonderful children and grandchildren; and many teaching and service ministries. Jesus was not only her Lord and Savior but her daily companion. She prayed for her family and others to accept Jesus and give God authority of their lives. Mrs. Good is survived by her husband, James Marvin Good, of Harrisonburg; children, Cynthia Dawn Good of Columbia, MD, and James Engle Good, and wife Charlene, of Exton, PA; brothers, Robert Martin of Lancaster, PA, Victor Martin of Bronx, NY, and Samuel Martin of Denver, CO; grandchildren, Jillian Mason, Kathleen Mason, and Ethan Good. A memorial service will be held at VMRC in Strite Auditorium, 1401 Virginia Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA, on October 26th at 1:30 PM. A food and fellowship time will be held in VMRC's Cline Community Center following the service. The memorial service cannot be live-streamed except within the VMRC campus, but it will be recorded. Please use this link to view the Service Recording. An interment service will be held at a later date, yet to be determined, in Richmond, VA at the First Mennonite Church Memory Garden. Memorial contributions may be made to Virginia Mennonite Missions, 601 Parkwood Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, https://vmmissions.org, or to People Helping People, https://phpharrisonburg.org. Online condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.mcmullenfh.com. McMullen Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.