News > North America

<3/21/2022>

By D*avid Kim 

Dr. J*ohn Doty's memorial service was held on March 19, 2022 (Lexington, KY). Dr. J*ohn fell asleep in the arms of his Heavenly Father at age 56 on December 13th, 2020. His family: his three sons, J*ohn, S*am, and W*ill; his daughter-in-law, E*lle; his mother B*everly; his brother and sister, A*ndrew (Joy) Doty and K*ay (Robert) M*orgenstern; and Grace, his wife of 29 years, remembers him as a precious and humble servant of the Lord. 60 people attended the memorial service in person, and 150 people attended online.

It was a celebration of his loving life on earth and his homecoming to the heavenly kingdom. We praise God for blessing his life and using him preciously for his kingdom.

Following is the obituary for Dr. John Doty, written by his wife Grace.

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” - 2 Timothy 4:6-8

My husband, Dr. John Rutledge Doty, who we endearingly refer to as Dr. John, fell asleep in the arms of his Heavenly Father at 6:48 pm on Sunday, December 13th, 2020. He passed away at age 56 in the University of Kentucky Healthcare Center. He is survived by his three sons, J*ohn, S*am, and W*ill; his daughter-in-law, E*lle; his mother B*everly; his brother and sister, A*ndrew (Joy) Doty and K*ay (Robert) M*orgenstern; and his wife of 29 years, Grace. He was preceded in death only by his father, Tom.

Dr. John was born on March 20th, 1964 in Lima, Ohio to Irwin Thomas “Tom” and Beverly Ellen Doty. Shortly after, his family moved to Mansfield, Ohio, where he spent the rest of his childhood. He graduated from Malabar High in 1982 where he explored his interests in music and woodworking.

In the same year, he went on to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Doctoral degrees. In 1984, while suffering the loss of his grandmother, he was invited to study the Bible by his late Bible teacher Shep. Geordan Griggs. He loved his Bible teacher as they were similar in temperament; they were both kind, humble, shy, quiet, and genuine. He especially loved their studies in Genesis, but soon he was conflicted over his relationship with his girlfriend. With this conflict, he decided to end his studies of the Bible. He said his life without the Word of God felt empty and meaningless. After a year, he decided to leave his girlfriend and return to studying the Bible. I often heard that God’s restoration and love relationship with John through His Word was evident to all those who witnessed him during this time. During his college years, he loved being a Bible teacher for the Cincinnati ministry’s Junior Bible Fellowship every weekend.

In 1990, he happened to visit the Chicago center for a wedding where I was a part of the music program. Our meeting was very brief. At the time, it was unbeknownst to the two of us that we would ever get married. He later told me what his impression of me was; he felt I was a very motherly person and that my face glowed like the moonlight reflection in the midnight sky. Soon, we developed a long-distance friendship, which grew into a relationship, which became an engagement. From the very beginning of our relationship and engagement, Dr. John showed his genuine love for God and his people. At the time, I was only a troubled young girl who was struggling to grow as a woman. In all my

weaknesses and mistakes, he would always protect me. He even said that whatever I was going through, I ought to tell others he was the cause of my struggles and that he would take the blame. This really moved my heart. I was deeply convinced that I didn’t have to wonder whether or not this was God’s will. I knew I could be sure that I was marrying a man who was the exact representation of Christ. This was the foundation of our relationship and marriage: a troubled young girl who married a man who had the heart of Jesus. God established a house church in Apr, 1991 and I moved to join him in Cincinnati where he finished his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1996. Upon his graduation, God provided a good job for him, and we moved to Lexington, KY in 1996.

He devoted a great deal of his life to the success of the company where he was employed, Dormakaba, as an Engineering Project Manager. But he was so humble, that you would have never known of his accomplishments.

Dr. John had a profound love for Christ and the Word of God, and this love revealed itself through the way in which he lived his life. As a self-supporting lay minister, he hosted a small house church. Through this church, he sacrificially served those who were under his and his wife’s spiritual care. In all his life as a Bible teacher and Sunday Bible study messenger, I have never heard him proclaiming his ambition to be a great servant of God or Bible teacher or be famous as a messenger. Rather, his personal life and actions spoke his love and reverent fear of God. He never sought people’s attention or recognition for who he was and always saw himself as an average man. He used to joke that he was so insignificant that his name was only one syllable away from “John Doe.” His only goal was to work hard to provide for his family and for the ministry under his care. He never complained about the sacrifices he made and the expenses we had, as we hosted our house church.

In 2012, he suffered from a heart failure which set the course of his life and health crisis. Even then he would never waver his heart’s attitude before God and his people. He was always gentle and humble. I still cannot recall a day when he raised his voice at me or our boys. He was so generous and served people who were healthier than he was even during his illness. In retrospect, our youngest was only 10 years old as he went through this medical trauma and crisis. He would always worry about the young one and loved on him along with the two other older boys.

In 2017, he suddenly became more symptomatic. It was later when I learned that for the three years since then, with grace and dignity, he suffered from working for a psychologically abusive boss who was bullying him every single day, every single moment. And yet, he would tell me only very little about his agony....that is, until his heart could no longer take it. Even then he would not blame nor

would he name this person to the Human Resources Department. Even to this day, this person never checked in to see how John was doing since the hospitalization, or how we as a family have been doing since his passing. Looking back, I never heard John saying or professing his desire to be like Jesus, making a vow to study the Bible with “X amount” of students, or how he wanted to be great in the sight of God. Rather, he welcomed the Lord in his heart and let Him live through him. He was poured out completely like a drink offering to provide, love, and forgive those who were under his care, whether they were aware of it or not.

It was natural for us to talk about death and the afterlife. Recently, before his passing, he casually mentioned to me that he was afraid of dying. I told him, “Remember when our children were young and they would fall asleep wherever? What did you do?” He said, “I picked them up and put them in bed.” I said, “Yeah, you are just going to fall asleep and your Father will take you to His home.” He replied, “Oh... that is comforting.”

As a father, he loved his family with immeasurable, genuine, and pure passion. He provided everything, sending our three boys to a wonderful private Christian school. And beyond their education, he always gave never-ending support to his children, becoming their greatest fan in everything they did. His playful personality brought the utmost joy to his family. He stayed strong to live to see his youngest become a young adult.

Often, he loved spending time with me by taking walks together at the local arboretum. In his own time, he found pleasure in tending to his small vegetable garden, caring especially for his garlic and tomatoes. He could often be found joyously playing his guitar or piano. He was an avid reader of science fiction novels, and he thoroughly enjoyed watching the Star Trek series. He brought out the best in everyone, especially in me, his wife. I can assure you that he loved me absolutely, to no end.

Though his life was physically wounded by his illness, he never wavered his faith, and he finished his race. His life and spirit still speak of the Lord who lived through him.