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In memory of
Kathleen Ryan Gooden
January 11, 1936 - January 9, 2019
Jan 11, 1936 - Jan 9, 2019
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Kathleen's obituary
If there were ever a guardian angel for children, it would be Kathy. Any child who called out, "Mom!" in the grocery store or appeared lost received Kathy's attention. A lifelong educator, she began her career working with elementary age children in Columbus-area schools. Resurrecting her career in the 1990s, she worked full time and became re-certified as a special education teacher. She especially loved her students at Kettering Fairmont High School, providing them with life skills, job training and experiences that helped them become beneficial members of society.
An Ohio State University alumni and loyal Buckeye Football fan, she rode the train from Columbus to Pasadena for the 1955 Rose Bowl to see OSU beat USC 20-7. She survived the John Cooper years and relished in the return to greatness under Jim Tressell, living long enough to enjoy the 2601 days since _ichigan has beaten OSU.
Her sense of adventure took her to Florida beaches, scuba diving Lake Erie shipwrecks, shell collecting in Hawaii and sipping Limoncello in Italy.
The patron saint of half-dead plants, Kathy had a green thumb that could resuscitate any perennial that just needed "a drink and some sunlight".
Most of all, Kathy adored her three granddaughters Elise, Emilie and Justine. Caring for them during their early years, she loved accompanying them to the park, witnessing their discoveries and treating them to a cookie and a balloon at Town & Country Shopping Center. She loved being a mother to her three children, John (Lynn), Jeanne (Yuri) and Jennie (Matt) and made her parents, Reginald and Gertrude, very proud. Her siblings Regina (Jim), Judy (Dave) and Bill (Molly) spent many fall seasons at "the woods", and the tradition has continued on, by a multitude of nieces and nephews.
Kathy often referred to "the woods as her church", so it's only fitting that family and friends will celebrate her life at one of Ohio's State Parks, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Hospice to Dayton, in Kathleen Gooden's memory.
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