Jeannette Paula Goodson

Jeannette Henson Goodson passed away suddenly, at the age of 97, on February 14th at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital after a fall in her home. She was born on September 13, 1924 to Minnie Lou and John Robert Henson in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Mom lived for almost a century before her soul was taken to be with God eternally all in accordance with His providence in which His love is ever directed to His children’s good. Her childhood was a time when peace and safety were the rule and a child could feel the freedom of exploration and adventure while building the spirit of independence and self-reliance so necessary to a happy successful life. Her early childhood memories are full of her explorations and adventures on bicycle through the length and breadth of her home town of Bogalusa. She would walk across town and over the bridge to the picture show on Saturday with her friends even before she began school. She was an excellent swimmer and proud of the time she saved a younger child from drowning at the local swimming hole. When a friend broke her arm sliding down the school laundry j her harm fully expecting others to like her if she liked them; and for most part this confidence carried through her whole life and formed the foundation of a very happy and confidant personality. Although living in town the family connections were still on the farm and her memories are also full of summers spent at her mother’s family’s farm where she would turn up with as many newly made shorts to last the length of the visit; her mother not wanting to bother Mom’s grandmother with any extra washing. She had two older siblings, a brother and sister 14 years and 12 years older respectively and so her upbringing was very much like that of an only child, much loved and a little spoiled.

The family moved to Baton Rouge when she was twelve at the height of the depression and she attended Baton Rouge Jr. High and then Baton Rouge High where she played clarinet in the band. Her father was often unemployed and would leave home for weeks looking for work while her mother made ends meet by taking in boarders and raising chickens. Rather than being a depressing memory Mom remembered one family of boarders as beloved friends. She graduated at sixteen for she ran off to school so often when she was five that they agreed to let her start school early. After graduation, she went to work for Gulf States Utilities working the comptometer (a mechanical calculator). As Mom would say this was a great time to be a young girl. There were dates and parties, a lot of fun but without the serious distraction of steady beaus. In fact, I don’t know if Mom ever went steady, although gathering her fair amount of proposals, finally deciding upon our Dad when he proposed to her by mail when overseas during the war. At this time, her memories were full of stories of the clubs around town, trips to Biloxi Beach or down to New Orleans and dates with boys home on leave. At home in Baton Rouge she would rent her favorite horse, Redwing, on weekends and ride him around town. Once the paper was looking for photos from the old days to publish and a person sent in to them a picture of three girls canoeing on the LSU lakes one was our Mom and the others her two best buds. After the war, Dad was discharged in Washington state VJ day coming just in time before deployment to the Pacific. So Mom and her mom had a cross country adventure taking the trains from Baton Rouge to the northwest for Mom to get married. After their honeymoon in Victoria, British Columbia, it was time to settle into married life while Dad finished up his interrupted education. Graduation from LSU and off to Tennessee for his first job, and the first kid, and all of a sudden life got serious.

Her married life at first was one of frequent job changes but these changes were only between two jobs and two places, Baton Rouge and Ethyl Corporation and Williamsburg in Virginia for the Colonial Restoration. Of her three children each was born in a different state Tennessee, Virginia, and Louisiana. Things settled down and she stayed in Virginia for ten years during which time she was active in church belonging to circles and Sunday school and making sure her children got their religious education. Jeannette also played a few acting parts in the local Little Theater. Our Mother’s priority was being a home maker, but she did, on occasion work outside the home. For Colonial Williamsburg, she became a tour guide for groups, mostly school children visiting the restored area. At this time the job involved studying and memorizing a large amount of historical facts. But I think most satisfying to her were the times she spent in period costume entertaining tourists in Colonial Williamsburg as part of various events. Foremost of these was the colonial dance group where they learned 18th century set dances and then performed them for the tourists. Afterwards, the tourists would be invited to join in. This was right down her and Dad’s alley. Christmas time was the high point of this activity and as the dancing was done outside and often at night, the Colonial dance group afterwards warmed themselves over a free meal in one of the Colonial Taverns held open late just for them. It really could not get any better. They also got to perform for some of the visiting dignitaries who from time to time visited Colonial Williamsburg particularly one year in which the Governor’s Conference was held there.

Their final move was back to Baton Rouge. This was in 1964. We all joined the Broadmoor Methodist Church in that year and she has been a member ever since. Again taking part in Sunday School, seeing her children continued in the faith, and later serving on the alter guild, as greeter and as general volunteer when needed. Mom was widowed in 1980, her children by that time had begun the next phase of their lives; one married with one child, and the others stubbornly single but later married. All together she would spend 22 years of her life single, 34 years married, and 41 years widowed.

Jeannette was an enthusiastic traveler. She and Dad moved to Belgium for a year while our father was on assignment for work. There, she got to see much of Europe either with Dad or with visiting family. With her sister, Anna, she visited Italy, with her sister-in-law, Frances, she visited Paris, and with her elder children she visited Switzerland. Her years as a widow were full years. After Dad died, she continued traveling visiting China, and Crete. Our Mother’s talents included painting, piano, and bridge. Her talent as a painter was shared with her daughter, Nike’. Together they traveled to Provence for a painting workshop and toured Spain, Alaska and the Southwest. In Baton Rouge, Jeannette was a member of the Art Guild, took local classes and placed her works in many judged art shows. One special year her work was awarded second place in the River Road show. She sold that painting and several more but most of her works she gave away or hung in her home. There is no better remembrance of Mom than these works and they are treasured dearly. Mother was a self-taught pianist and became advanced enough to fully enjoy it. She was a classical music enthusiast and enjoyed opera and ballet and season tickets to the Baton Rouge Symphony for many years.

Mom lived by herself to the end and was nearly self- sufficient. Her native intelligence came to the fore when circumstances brought her to be on her own and it was shown she was more than up to the challenge. With the help of some very wise, talented and nice financial advisors she was able to take the money Dad left her and build it up to a comfortable living without the need for wages or salary. The decisions that had to be made in regards to her investments were ultimately hers and they proved to be wise indeed.

Finally as to her character, I would say first that although the world does tend to crust over our happier youthful selves the crust was very thin in Mom’s case. The young girl was never far away and frequently coming out. It was never hard to imagine her as the outgoing, carefree, happy, thoroughly attractive girl she must have been. As for her deeper side it was thoroughly practical. She was a Christian therefore when she died she would go to heaven, it was not a supposition it was not a hope it was a complete assurance. She had little or no interest of the doctrinal side of religion as such. She could recite the creeds with the total confidence of one saying the undeniable. These things she believed without doubt, all else was for others to ponder and probe. She believed that there exists only one standard of morality that originates in God.

One story I think will help give a flavor of what it was like to be with Mom. She loved to play games. When my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were in town, who also love to play games, we settled around the table for a game of “Phase 10”. Mom was not familiar with the game (or at least so she said) and was continually, and sooo innocently, asking questions on how the play went. There is a part of the game which allows one player to inhibit another’s play by making him skip a turn. This is usually played against the leading player. Not Mom, who used the opportunity against her son who was already so far behind as to be no threat at all. The startled look of injured trust on her son’s face and that of total innocence on Mom’s was enough to set the entire table into hysterics. Mom went on to win the game and acquire at the same time a joshing reputation for playing innocent to deceive. This reputation she in no way attempted to dissuade, enjoying the reputation for a cunning old lady card shark, but in truth she was truly innocent. It just so happened, as occurred frequently in later life, it took some time for her to warm up into a game but once fully in was formidable.

As the last surviving member of her generation in the family, she will be met by many who preceded her in death: her husband of 34 years Edward Norman Goodson; her mother Minnie Lou Henson and her father John Robert Henson; her brother Robert Henson, sister-in-law Hilda Henson and their daughter Jeannine, her sister Anna Schmidt, brother-in-law Joe Schmidt and their sons Carl, Erwin, and Joe Harrell; her daughter-in-law Kathleen Mullins Goodson; and her son-in-law Robert Glasgow; her mother-in-law Frances Lee; sister-in-law Frances Williamson and brother-in-law Lloyd Williamson; She is survived by her son Norman Lance Goodson and his daughter Virginia Goodson; daughter Nike Stevens and son-in-law David Stevens; daughter Connie Glasgow and her sons Lance Glasgow and Robert Glasgow. She is also survived by her nieces: Kathleen Chambers (to whom a special thanks for the beautiful eulogy), Hilda Donaldson (Tommy), Christine Brown, Squeaky Swan (Chuck), and Rebecca Padrick (Rick) and their children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren.

Our Mother taught us to be kind and considerate of others. By example, she also taught us not to fear life or death. How then should she be remembered? We think as fun-loving, easily made happy, quick to laugh feisty, gregarious, loving, self-confident, and independent. Our thanks to the Emergency staff and the NICU staff of OLOL for the compassionate care given to Mom in her last hours

Services will be held at Broadmoor United Methodist Church at 11:00 o’clock on Monday the 21st of February. Visiting at the church will begin at 9:30 am and continue until the service begins. Following the Service, interment will be at Green Oaks Cemetery and a reception will follow in the Adult Education Building

For my darling aunt Jeanette, a life worth living, a life worth sharing with those of us who never got to walk the path of worldly exploration. I was able to go down the roads not taken through the eyes and soul of an adventurous artist. I was invited, thru our many conversations, to walk by her side. Her younger years, loving the Gulf Coast, sailing and being with her friends at the old Broadwater Beach hotel. Living and working in Baton Rouge, shopping on 3rd Street and coping with the climate that existed during the War years. And all the travel that came later. Jeanette could make you feel that you were by her side as she visited the gardens painted by Monet, or smelling the freshly baked breads and pastries of the shops in Brussels. You could breathe the ocean air on the coast of Greece while admiring the beauty of white washed buildings. You could feel the cobblestone streets of Paris beneath your feet and visit the works of great artists at the Louvre. I was with her as she witnessed the pastoral landscape of China as she walked the Great Wall. I will miss our trips together — her real life adventures — my imaginary wonderment. Jeanette was my tour guide through English history, made it important to know the events that led to our place on earth today. She loved history, knew history and made it exciting to learn. All these things I will miss— not the least being her funny narrative about today’s political climate. Oh, how I’m going to miss those lively discussions with a true Patriot! I will love and miss you always, my darlin’ Aunt.

Kathleen Chambers