Dodie Osteen: The astonishing story of how she survived cancer at 44 and just died at 91

By Nehru Odeh

Delores ‘Dodie’ Osteen’s life was one guided by faith and marked by a string of miracles. And she had the bragging right of being one of a few women who were first known with her husband, John, and then later with her son, Joel, who became Lakewood’s senior pastor after his father died in 1999 and the “face” of the ministry. She herself, fondly known as Mama Dodie, was famous on many counts. She co-founded Lakewood, the largest church in the United States, with her husband in an empty feed store in 1959. But she, the mother of five children who are all ministers of God, was “just Dodie,” as she once referred to herself.

But that is not all about Dodie. That is not all about the woman who once said she was living to please her children. In her bestselling book, “If My Heart Could Talk: A story of family, faith and miracles,” Dodie shares, “Over the years, people have often referred to me as Pastor John Osteen’s wife… now many refer to me as Joel Osteen’s mother. But I’m just Dodie, a lady who loves God and people; and the mother of five wonderful children who all happen to be in full-time ministry.”

Still, the most astonishing feature of Dodie’s life is that she just died at 91 after surviving cancer at the age of 44, when doctors told her she had few weeks to live. Her son, Joel, made the announcement on social media Wednesday night. Below is a message he posted to Facebook, Instagram, and X.

“It is with a heavy heart that Victoria and I, along with our family, announce the passing of our cherished mother and grandmother, Dolores ‘Dodie’ Osteen. She was the beloved matriarch of Lakewood Church, an inspiration to millions of people around the world, and a faithful servant of God. Known as ‘Mama Dodie’ to the entire Lakewood family, together, we celebrate her amazing life and lasting legacy. She passed away due to natural causes, peacefully at her home. She was 91 years old.”

However, Dodie authored several books, including “Healed of Cancer” in 1986, which told the story of her battle with metastatic liver cancer. In December 1981, she was diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer and told she had only weeks to live. She and her husband, John, rejected the diagnosis and turned to prayer. The next day, the couple lay at the foot of their bed, and “there just happened to be a Bible there,” Mrs. Osteen told The Washington Times. The pages opened to the Book of Nahum in the Old Testament, and their eyes fell on 1:9, which reads in part, “affliction shall not rise up the second time.” Her husband uttered a prayer, she said. “I remember so, so well. He said, ‘Father, I need her, Jesus, you need her, the children need her, and the church needs her.'”

The prayers continued. As she walked around her home or down the driveway to collect the mail, she would offer a prayer of thanks for her healing. She copied Bible verses about healing and affixed them to the mirror and posted photos of herself in good health and being active. Three weeks later, she stood in the pulpit and prayed for the sick.

Still, that was one of the many miracles that marked her stupendous life. An only child, when she was about 2 years old, she fell through a rotted board on a neighbor’s porch, hitting a tree stump. “My parents told me I cried a little, but after that, I wouldn’t walk. My right leg and foot stopped growing normally. I wore a brace on my right leg until fourth grade,” she wrote. She eventually was diagnosed with polio and was left with a lifelong limp.

And she met her husband, who was her pastor, in a funny manner. Dodie went on to become a nurse. In her memoir, she relates that while at work, she noticed her pastor was coming to the hospital quite often. At first, the author writes, she thought he had an unusual number of sick people in his congregation. It took a while before she realized he was coming to see her. In 1954, the couple was married. “Everything about that day was perfect,” she writes. In time, they had five children: Paul, Lisa, Tamara, Joel, and April.

Decades before the healing of metastatic liver cancer, the Osteens faced another medical dilemma. This one changed their lives and gave rise to Lakewood’s founding. In 1958, the couple’s daughter Lisa was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Although the hospital “didn’t think it was bad, we’d just have to wait and see,” Dodie recalled.

We brought her home, didn’t know anything was wrong, and then all of a sudden, we noticed she couldn’t move or do anything, and actually, she wouldn’t eat,” she said. The Osteens were Southern Baptists, and John Osteen pastored a congregation in Houston at the time. Confronting Lisa’s illness, he spent a night in prayer, seeking what his wife called “the baptism in the Holy Ghost and the evidence of speaking in tongues and so forth.” It was just a change for all of us. By the time Lisa approached her first birthday, she was walking, Mrs. Osteen said.

Today, Lisa Osteen Comes is healthy, married with children, and serves as an associate pastor at Lakewood. “My mother has been a tower of strength for our family, leaving us a legacy that will influence our children and generations to come,” Mrs. Comes said via text message. “She has taught us by example what it means to love God and serve Him in all we do. To this day, I know that my mother will pray for me and my family every day without fail.”

Asked to sum up his mother’s life, Dr. Osteen said her persistence in the face of setbacks such as Lisa’s illness and her cancer diagnosis is notable. “You know, at any point in time, she could have given up or quit, but she didn’t,” Dr. Osteen said. “She’s just kept going.” When Dodie heard her son say they would ask her what she was planning for the next 10 years at church on Sunday, she jumped in to comment. “I want to please my children,” she said. “I don’t want to give up on my children. I mean, if they expect me to do something, I need to do it.” And indeed, Dodie never gave up on her children.

Joel said his mother’s prayer ministry remains a draw. “People come from all over the world to have my mother pray for them,” Mr. Osteen told The Times. “Once a month, she has a prayer service. It’s a huge part of who we are. My mom loves to pray.” Dodie said interceding for those in need is a fulfilling ministry. “I love to pray for the sick,” she said in a telephone interview. “I went through cancer, and Jesus healed me in 1981. I’m telling you, if I hadn’t prayed for the sick all these years, I don’t know what I would have done. It’s just my life. I just live to pray for people.”

Lakewood Church, which she co-founded with her husband in an empty feed store in 1959, now meets in the 16,800-seat former Compaq Center arena. The building, an unofficial city landmark, is generally packed for three services each weekend, two in English and one in Spanish. Millions more catch services via YouTube, Facebook, and Roku, Apple TV and SiriusXM satellite radio, a church spokeswoman said.