Disciples Divinity House

Dolores Jones Highbaugh, a lifelong advocate for transformation and education across the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), died February 27, 2026, in Chicago. She was 98.

Mrs. Highbaugh provided essential leadership for the Disciples following Restructure and Merger, including serving on the Moderator Team for General Assembly from 1975-77. She was a delegate in ecumenical dialogues, where she was often the sole lay woman among white male clergy and theologians.

Her example, encouragement, and ideas were formative for generations of students and deans at the Disciples Divinity House. She regularly participated in Monday dinners and programs, always bringing challenging questions for House Scholars as she urged them to become educators for all people in the church.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, on April 15, 1927, Dolores Jones moved to Detroit with her family, and, later, to Chicago. In 1947, she was introduced to Richard Highbaugh, a former Tuskegee Airman who was pursuing his MBA at the University of Chicago. They married in 1949. They raised two children, Claudia and Earl Burton, and were proud that both graduated from the University’s Laboratory Schools. Claudia became the first African American woman to be ordained into the Disciples of Christ after Restructure; she is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Disciples Divinity House.

Dolores and Richard served as elders and in many pivotal ways at Park Manor Christian Church. Dolores gave important leadership in the Chicago Disciples Union including in transformative interracial initiatives. She worked with Disciples Women in the regional and general church, often alongside Sybel Thomas and Eddie Griffin.

Dolores Highbaugh is survived by her daughter, Claudia. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, who died in 2006 at age 85, and by their son, Earl Burton, who died February 6. Services will be held April 18 at Park Manor Christian Church in Chicago at 12:30 pm CDT (Brunch/"prepast" at 11:00 am.) The service will be live-streamed on youtube.com/@ParkManorCC.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship fund (Chicago chapter) or to the Highbaugh Family Fund at DDH (giving link here). The Highbaugh Family Fund was created in 2022 on the occasion of Delores’s 95th birthday and to ensure that the Highbaugh family's profound example, commitment, and challenge are sounded for future generations of learners and leaders.