Sorry for your loss, Amanda. Your folks were my first friends in Dubuque back in the early 1980s. Great times and a Friendsgiving to remember with lasagna, no turkey. So many memories. Bill and your dad taught at Wahlert.

I last saw Joe and Amanda at Our Lady of Peach in St. Paul when he was first there.  I am so glad I visited him there.  I was in Maureen and Joe's wedding. Soon,  I traveled to the Twin Cities to serve 2-years of Alternate Service as a Conscious Objector in  California Hospital and Rehabilitation Center.  I disappeared from my friends at that time.  Joe and I were very close friends at La Salle High School.  I have been recalling many things he and I did together. He will always remain in my heart and memory. 

Sorry for your loss Amanda . I’m a cousin on the Gooding side or Willard as far as that goes. Henry and Dessa was my grandparents brother and sister Otto and Martha Gooding. I remember going to Navoo to see them and of course your mom and grandparents .I love going there to play.

So sad to hear about Uncle Joe....I always remember Uncle Joe telling us a story in a restaurant in Dubuque IL when he was in his later 20's....His mannerisms were fun and entertaining but I'll never forget the way Aunt Maureen was so engrossed in his story with her adoring eyes! Their love was an inspiration!

In September, 2017, my dad and I recorded a StoryCorps interview, where he shared a number of family stories. This interview is now archived as part of the U.S. Library of Congress' American Folklife Center and can be listened to at this link: https://archive.storycorps.or…. It is a priceless gift to have my dad sharing these stories in his own voice now, and I wanted to share it with you all.