James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, dies at 89

James Dobson, the child psychologist who built Focus on the Family into a sprawling evangelical ministry and became one of the most influential voices in American conservative culture, died on Thursday at age 89. His passing was announced by the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, with details about the exact cause not disclosed. He died at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, leaving behind his wife of 64 years, Shirley, and their two children.

Born in 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dobson trained as a pediatric psychologist and later became a prominent voice in parenting guidance. In 1970 he published Dare to Discipline, a manual that championed firm discipline and contrasted with more permissive approaches of the era. He founded Focus on the Family in 1977, steering it into a major international ministry that grew into a multimedia enterprise. At its peak the organization employed more than a thousand people and operated a broad media network, including daily radio programs, magazines, films, and books. By the 1990s his broadcasts reached thousands of stations around the country and were translated into multiple languages, expanding his influence well beyond the United States.