John Godsey

John Drew Godsey John D. Godsey, Th.D, 88, professor emeritus of Wesley Theological Seminary and a renowned scholar of German theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, died Oct. 12, at Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Md. He died of cardiac arrest. Born in Bristol on Oct. 10, 1922, Dr. Godsey was the son of William Clinton and Mary Lynn Corns Godsey. He attended Tennessee High School 1936-38 and then spent the last two years at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, graduating in 1940. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and received his B.S. degree in 1947, following a stint as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1943-46. Dr. Godsey earned a B.D. degree magna cum laude in 1953 from Drew University Theological School, during which time he was awarded both the Morrow Memorial Scholarship and the Delaplaine McDaniel Fellowship. He earned his doctorate in theology insigni cum laude in 1960 from the University of Basel, Switzerland, where he was a prot‚g‚ of Swiss theologian Karl Barth, one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Dr. Godsey's published dissertation, The Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was the first comprehensive study of Bonhoeffer in any language. He was recognized throughout the theological world as an expert on Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and member of the German resistance who was executed near the end of World War II for his role in the failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Dr. Godsey was professor of systematic theology at Drew University Theological School in New Jersey from 1956-1968. In 1964, he was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholarship and spent a sabbatical year at the University of Goettingen, Germany. He moved to Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1968, where he taught systematic theology and served as associate dean for three years. He continued to teach until retirement in 1988. He returned in 1990 to teach an additional three years, and served briefly as acting dean of the Seminary. In 1995, Dr. Godsey received Drew University Theological School's Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Godsey authored and co-authored numerous books and other scholarly works, including Ethical Responsibility: Bonhoeffer's Legacy to the Churches, and was a founding member of the International Bonhoeffer Society, English Language Section; a past president of the American Theological Society; and active in the American Academy of Religion, the Biblical Theologians and the Karl Barth Society of North America. During his time growing up, Dr. Godsey's family attended State Street Methodist Church, and he was a long-time member of the Bethesda United Methodist Church in Maryland, where he often preached and lectured. He was preceded in death in 1993 by Emalee Caldwell Godsey, his wife of 50 years; as well as brothers, William Clinton Godsey Jr. and Edwin Shirley Godsey. His wife of 15 years, Cozette Barker Godsey, died Oct. 13. He is survived by his children Emalee Godsey Murphy, of Kensington, Md., John Drew Godsey Jr., of Bradenton, Fla., Suzanne Godsey Douglas, of Asheville, N.C., Gretchen Godsey Brownley, of Westminster, Md.; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; sisters, Helen Godsey Overbay, of Kingsport, Tenn., and Eloise Godsey Horner, of Bristol Virginia; and stepchildren, James A. Barker of Bethesda, Md., Christopher Barker of Great Falls, Va., and John Barker of San Francisco. A service will be held Friday, Oct. 22, at 3 p.m. at the Heritage Chapel of Memories in Glenwood Cemetery, 839 Bluff City Highway, Bristol, TN.