Dee Douglass Obituary

I, along with the whole The Fellowship of Joy were so sad to hear of the death of one of its retired staff missionaries, my dear friend and the wife of my dear friend and coworker.

We received word that DeeAnn Douglass had died in North Carolina where her retirement, as the rest of her life, included mentoring, discipling, and encouraging younger people to be all they could be for Christ. Anyone who knew DeeAnn could testify to her sweet spirit, kind heart, ready humor, and love for God and people.

She was a faithful follower of Christ and had been for many years before I new her and after.

I have lost track of how many years it has been, but Jack Douglass showed up first at the church and it was not long before he was drawn, by God, into ministry, first at Juvenile Hall where he had worked for 30 year, then at our church where we ordained him and made him Associate Pastor in charge of community ministries, and, during all of that, Youth for Christ Central Valley where he coordinated juvenile correctional ministries.

It was at Youth for Christ where, he met DeeAnn Douglass (or DeeAnn Douglass ) and they were, eventually married.

What a great ministry partner DeeAnn was for Jack. Her gift of hospitality and gracious spirit, along with her natural pastoral gifts and mentoring capacity, combined with Jack's pastoral and evangelistic gifts and they practiced Christian community development the way John Perkins taught it, buying a house, and moving into the Granny's Park community as part of 4141 Ministries and The Fellowship of Joy to be our chaplains to that community.

Because a little girl named Rosalinda had lived in that house and we all knew and loved her, they called their home, Rosalinda's House and dedicated it to the Lord and the people of the neighborhood.

Jack and DeeAnn bought into the ministry to the community wholeheartedly and our vision there.

Many people's lives were touched by this couple in the neighborhood and through the church. With DeeAnn cheering him on, Jack pursued his theological education and became a very capable preacher and teacher.

Through them, families were restored, addicted people were set free, and lives were changed by the grace of God.

The work of Jack and Dee Ann in Fresno continues in many ministries and lives.

We love you all and mourn the loss off Dee Ann.