Remembering Nancy Johnson

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Nancy Johnson

By Urantia Foundation staff

Nancy was a woman who was so unique that it is hard to describe her. Strong-minded in her beliefs, a friend to many, a leader in the Dallas–Fort Worth Urantia community, and a scholar of The Urantia Book, she was dedicated to serving the Urantia Revelation.

Nancy was an original member of the Standard Reference Text (SRT) Committee, a group that was formed in 2007 with the purpose of working together to eliminate known typographical errors and to create a standard text which Urantia Foundation and the Urantia Book Fellowship could publish with the assurance that it was as close as possible to the text originally composed by its authors.

There were six charter members, three each from each organization. Nancy represented the Fellowship and worked with Merritt Horn to help document the corrections that were made after the first printing of The Urantia Book. Fellow committee member Marilynn Kulieke observed, “Nancy was amazing in her research for references that became the foundation for our committee’s work.”

Nancy’s time working on the SRT was limited due to her deteriorating eyesight. Eventually her sight was gone, yet her faith in the revelation of God and his universe remained steady and illuminated her path into darkness.

Jesus said to a blind man that he met on his way to Jerusalem, “You shall receive your sight; go your way; your faith has made you whole.” 171:5.3 (1873.3) Said Marilynn, “I believe that Nancy's faith made her whole, and I will never forget the gifts she gave us in her perseverance, scholarship, and love of the revelation.”

Jay Peregrine, former executive director of Urantia Foundation, reminisced about working with Nancy on the SRT project. “She was always an even match for minds such as Merritt Horn’s and was a keen stickler for details even as she struggled with her sight issues.”

He continued, “At the time the SRT represented a healing process between the Urantia Book Fellowship and Urantia Foundation. Rather than fight about the ‘correct’ version of the book, we decided to work together to create the best standard text that we could. Nancy wholeheartedly joined the collaborative effort and was a joy to work with. I will always recall her stimulating presence of mind and loving personality.”

Foundation staff member Cece Forrester recalls serving with Nancy on the Fellowship’s Publications Committee when Linda Buselli was chair. She has fond memories of wide-ranging discussions in lunch meetings at Techny Towers, of which Nancy’s witty remarks were a frequent highlight.

Cece also remembers Nancy as a welcoming hostess to readers visiting from out of town. “I once made the trip to Dallas by train for a General Council meeting,” recalls Cece. “Nancy kindly offered to meet me at the station. She recruited a friend to do the driving, and before delivering me to the meeting site, took us on a quick tour. She made a special stop at Dealey Plaza so I could see the historic site—I especially wanted to know what the grassy knoll looked like—with my own eyes.”

Click here to learn about the Standard Reference Text: https://www.urantia.org/urantia-book/what-is-the-standard-reference-text?term=SRT