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Florence Adeline Dodge
Florence was born 27 March 1918 in Maryland (we think Baltimore) and died 17 Jan 2004 in Oakmont, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Elliot George Dodge (born 1886) and Mary Ellen Durston. This family descends from Richard. |
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Florence Dodge, 85, of Oakmont, a department store worker and woman of God, died Saturday, Jan. 17, 2004. Although she was Presbyterian, Florence Dodge made a difference in the lives of 110 million Catholics. She hosted a multidenominational prayer group in her home in Ross. One night in 1967, two professors from Duquesne University attended the group's meeting and were inspired to establish a charismatic Catholic movement whose members now number 110 million, said her nephew, Christopher Dodge. "They received something at that prayer meeting," her nephew said. For years, her friend, Barbara Sollenberger, and her nephew said Ms. Dodge wouldn't talk about the prayer meeting out of humility. "She had such a heart for the Lord," Sollenberger said. "She never thought of herself first." Florence was born and raised in Ben Avon. Her mother Molly was active in the Presbyterian church there and served on the board of governors for Presbyterian Medical Center of Oakmont, where Florence lived out her final years. She attended night school, but never graduated college, Christopher Dodge said. After her prayer group disbanded in the late 1960s, she attended Elim Bible College in Lima, N.Y. She worked for Gimbels in New York City and as training director of personnel at Kaufmann's in Pittsburgh, but her calling was to spread God's word, Sollenberger said. "A lot of people are now Christians because of her testimony and her example," her nephew said. He described his aunt as accepting of everyone, including himself and his hippie friends in the 1960s. Sollenberger met Florence in the 1960s during a conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida., for the Holy Spirit Teaching Mission. "The Lord just knitted us together as friends," she said. Sollenberger said she would go with Florence to prayer meetings, services and conventions. Sometimes, she'd come over for chicken dinners or they'd meet at Wendy's for chili. Florence is survived by a sister, Priscilla Gardner of Bedford. She was predeceased by two brothers, Elliott Jr. and A. Dunston, and a sister, Jacqueline. Thomas English Funeral Home, of Oakmont, is handling funeral arrangements. Interment will be private, but a memorial service will be scheduled later. |