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.
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.