George Fooshee Funeral
August 19, 2022 (died on August 12)
Note: George Fooshee was a member of First Evangelical Free Church for over 40 years. He and his wife Marjean were a tremendous asset to our congregation, discipling and counseling scores of people to become financially free and to walk with Jesus.
Obituary: George Trewitt Fooshee Jr. met his Savior in glory at 92 years old on Friday morning, August 12, 2022. Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and 13 times adoring great grandfather, left this world for the One he has long hoped for. He will be tremendously missed and gratefully remembered as a loving partner, brother in Christ, and devoted shepherd of the Fooshee clan.
George had a reputation for looking forward. As a business leader, a pilot, a Christian author and speaker, and a committed disciple maker, George devoted much of his time helping others navigate life with a specific emphasis on bringing Biblical peace and order to their personal finances. Many point to George, and his dear Marjean’s love and care, for their growth in Christ.
George was born to George Trewitt Sr. and Lola Marguerite Fooshee on December 17, 1929 and grew up as an only child having lost a brother at birth. Living all of his 92 years in Wichita, George became an Eagle Scout and was elected Governor of Boys State, earning a trip to meet President Truman in Washington D.C. George met his future wife Marjean when he was 18 and she was 16, at North High School.
George graduated from SMU thanks to a full scholarship from the Methodist Church and then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. He later fulfilled his commitment to “pay it forward,” investing back into the scholarship program. He called Harvard “the greatest educational experience of his life.” George married Marjean on April 3, 1954, and he left for basic Army training at Ft. Leonard Wood just 6 months later.
George and Marjean came to faith in Jesus early in their married life and were instrumental in the church body of Central Christian Church, and then First Evangelical Free Church throughout their lives together.
He worked for Credit Adjustment Company, the business his father started. George later ran the company until his retirement in 1995. After retirement, George served as Midwest Vice President of Crown Financial Ministries. He authored three books on the biblical principles of financial freedom, the last two of which Marjean co-authored.
George is survived by his wife of 68 years Marjean, his daughters Jenny (Greg) Swanson, and Amy (Michael) Bankston, grandchildren Tori (Daniel) Di Bartolo, Lizzie (Jonathan) Brickley, Brad (Hannah) Bankston, and Kami Bankston. Thirteen great-grandchildren have warmed George and Marjean’s hearts over the years. Their oldest great-grandchild is 14 years old, and the youngest will be born in October.
Message: When I first became pastor here in 1975, it wasn’t long before I heard the name of George Fooshee, a well-respected Christian leader here in Wichita. The very next year he published his first book, You Can Be Financially Free. I obtained a copy and read it for great personal profit.
Our paths crossed a few times, including at Glen Eyrie and World Impact, and I was pleasantly surprised when George and Marjean showed up at church one Sunday in 1980, along with Wink and Lynn Nolte, and a few weeks later Gus and Nancy Gustavson joined them. Little did I know the impact these three families would have on our church over the next four decades! And what an honor it is for me to speak at George’s Homegoing, as it was at Wink’s and Nancy’s!
I will share one personal story. My relationship with George continued even after we moved to St. Louis in 1984. In fact, I invited George to speak at our church there, and we instituted Crown classes that had a very positive impact on First Free in St. Louis. When I did my doctoral work at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the early 90’s, my dissertation was inspired by George. It was entitled, “Biblical and Practical Guidelines for Church Indebtedness.” He was kind enough to read it and offer valuable suggestions. And when we returned to Wichita in 2004, George lent valuable support to our successful effort to retire the church’s debt in an amazingly short time. I’m glad to report that we have been debt free now for over 15 years.
I thought it appropriate to speak to you today on the topic of debt. I would like to share three propositions with you:
There is a debt we must pay.
There is a debt we must continually pay on but can never pay off.
There is a debt we owe but cannot pay; Someone Else has to pay it for
us.
The key verse I want to focus on is Rom. 13:8. The NIV reads, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.” Or as the ESV puts it, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other.” George spoke often about the first part of that verse (“Let no debt remain outstanding”) in his books, in his teaching, and in his counseling. Owning and operating a successful debt-collection agency, he had great insight into how many lives were ruined by financial debt. Much of his life’s work has been helping people get out and stay out of debt.
In the paragraph immediately preceding Rom. 13:8, the Apostle Paul addresses the requirement for Christians to pay their taxes. We might refer to taxes as a public debt we owe. So when Paul says “let no debt remain outstanding,” he is clearly stating that no believer should find himself in arrears on his taxes. But in addition to public debt, there is also private debt—mortgage on a home, consumer debt, credit card debt, etc. Here, too, no debt should remain outstanding, i.e., one should never allow his liabilities to exceed his assets, and he should never get behind on his payments. George, of course, would say that the best way to avoid having outstanding debts is to avoid getting into debt in the first place, whenever possible. Excellent biblical advice!
But the Apostle’s purpose here in Romans 13:8 is really not to focus on financial debt, either public or private; rather, he brings up the topic of indebtedness as a hook to address a debt that is far more important—the debt of love. “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.” This is a debt we owe that we can never pay off but must constantly pay on.
In the following verses the Apostle defines love, not as a sentimental emotion, but rather a life of obedience to God’s commandments. He continues: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’’Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.”
George was widely known by what he taught and how he lived regarding the first part of our key verse: “Let no debt remain outstanding.” But frankly, what I remember most about George is how well he lived the second part of the verse—loving his neighbor as himself.
George exhibited love for his neighbor in a number of ways. First, his entire emphasis on getting people out of financial debt was actually motivated by his love for them. He wanted people to enjoy life and reach their God-given potential, and he knew they never would if they were up to their eyeballs in debt. He wanted churches to be out of debt so that they could put their resources to work for the kingdom.
George also showed love for his neighbor in his relationships. I don’t know anyone who had so many life-long friends as George, a number of whom are here today, while others preceded him to glory. I think of Ford Madison, John LeFever, Marvin Martin, Wink Nolte, Dick Wilke, Stu Ferrel, Gus Gustavson, Al Ewert, and many, many others. These were not casual acquaintances; these were men George was devoted to. He would do anything for them and they, in turn, would do anything for him. It’s sad, but some people have no friends like that, or at most, one or two. But frankly, we could spend hours this morning just listening to testimonies from people about how well George loved them and the positive impact he had on their lives. I encourage you to read the tributes on the Cozine website.
George, of course, showed love in his family relationships as well. I read the Life Story of George and Marjean this week, privately published for their children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren. It’s an amazing account of intentionality in building loving family relationships. This morning you have heard from a few members of the family how successful he was at that.
George also showed love for his neighbor through generosity. I never heard him talk about his personal giving, other than to affirm his commitment to biblical tithing, but I would often hear from others how generous he was to them. George, with Marjean’s full support, lived decidedly below his means, and they remained in their modest home on Stratford for 46 years, driving used cars, keeping them for years, and purchasing many things at second-hand stores. The reason he did this was not because he couldn’t afford nicer things but so he could give more. For the last 25 years that he owned his company, George shared 50% of the profit with his employees. This was before profit-sharing became more common, and even when companies have begun to do that, rarely do any share at that level.
George also showed love for his neighbor through faithful ministry—at Central Christian for a number of years, here at First Free for the last 42 years, with the Leadership Prayer Breakfast for almost 60 years, with World Impact, Young Life, the Navigators, and Crown Ministries. But ministry for George was not only, or even principally through organizations. You could find him at Spears Restaurant with someone he was discipling, always with an open Bible, or with a group of geezers, sharing his walk with Christ, or mentoring a young businessman. Pete Ochs shared with me last night an incredible story of George’s faithful mentorship. Ask him about it.
So far we have seen, first, that there is a debt we owe, both public and private, that we must pay—financial debt. Second, there is a debt we owe that we can never pay off, though we are called upon to pay on that debt continually, i.e., the debt to love one another. But there is a third debt we owe that we simply cannot pay; Someone Else must pay it for us. That is the debt of sin. Paul wrote in Romans 3 that “all have sinned,” i.e., all have fallen short of the standards God has set for us. In fact, if we’re honest with ourselves we have to admit that we have not even lived up to our ownstandards, much less God’s.
Furthermore, Paul tells us in Romans 6 that “the wages of sin is death.” We are actually under a death sentence because of our sin. Yes, physical death is part of that, but there is another kind of death threatening us that is far more serious than physical death. That is spiritual death, separation from God for all eternity.
But, perhaps you ask, can’t we cancel our sin debt by doing good deeds? Surely a man who did as much good as George was successful in paying off his debt! No, our debt is too great, and besides, the prophet Isaiah says that “all our righteousness is as filthy rags.” I think what he means is that even when we do good things, our motives are too often compromised. In other words, when we treat someone kindly, it is usually not just because we love them but also because it makes us feel good about ourselves or makes us look good in the eyes of others.
But, you may ask, what if we regret our sinful actions, show remorse and promise not to sin again? Won’t that cancel our sin debt? No, because try as we might, we cannot keep that promise.
So, are we helpless and hopeless? We would be, except for the fact that the Son of God came, lived a perfect life, and then died on the Cross specifically to pay our debt of sin—the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God. That’s what Paul is referring to when he adds, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In his personal testimony in the last chapter of his first book, You Can Be Financially Free, George recalls hitchhiking one day in 1949. He was trying to get back to Wichita from Dallas, where he was enrolled at SMU. A man with a black beard and a black suit picked him up in a Model A Ford. In the seat beside him was a thick black Bible. The man asked him, “Brother, are you a Christian?” George answered confidently, “I sure am. I’ve gone to S.S. and church all my life, I’m going to a Christian college, and my roommate is studying to be a preacher.” George writes, “After all that, surely the old man believed I was a Christian. At least, if he didn’t, I did!”
But it wasn’t until 12 years later that George and Marjean, now married, were invited to a retreat where they heard the Gospel taught clearly for the first time. They heard that Christ died for the ungodly; they heard that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but has eternal life.” (John 3:16) On the final night of the retreat, they went forward together and gave their lives to Christ.
That day George experienced the most important debt retirement in his whole life—his debt of sin was paid by Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. And the rest of George’s life was lived in gratitude for that gift. I know he would like nothing better than for someone at his memorial service to receive that same gift by surrendering both heart and life to Jesus.
Prayer: Father, we thank you for giving George Fooshee 92 years to impact thousands of people for eternity. His, indeed, was a life well lived. I thank you for the influence he had on my own life and on our church. We pray for Marjean, who has been George’s faithful companion for more than 68 years of marriage, for Jenny and Greg, for Amy and Michael, for George’s 4 grandchildren, and 13 greatgrandchildren, and for the one due in October, who will never meet George but will surely profit from his legacy. And what an amazing legacy he has left all of us!
Thank you most of all for the Lord Jesus, to whom George gave all the glory for all he was able to accomplish. We also give you all the glory. We pray these things in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.