Kenneth A. Goss, 86, of West Chester, PA. and formerly of Pleasantville, NY in Westchester County, passed away courageously January 3, 2019 surrounded by family, following a 16-month battle with pulmonary fibrosis. His wife of 49 years, Delphine Ann Goss (nee Kain), predeceased him in 2006, from the same horrendous disease. His sister Elaine Gross, and brother Harold Goss, predeceased him. He is survived by his daughter Delphine (Scott), son Kenneth Kirk (Cheryl), son Brad (Mary), daughter Bridget (Jeffrey); grandfather of Andrew, Ashley, Connor, Christopher, Hillary, Joseph, Katherine, Lauren, Michelle, Molly, Samantha, Whitney, and five great-grandchildren; Carolyn, Merrill, Annie, Maggie and Henry. He was a loving husband, a giving father, a guiding grandfather, and a loyal friend.
Ken was born at the Community Hospital at Dobb’s Ferry on April 11, 1932 to Agnes (nee McCarthy) and Roosevelt “Rosie” Goss, and was raised in Irvington, NY; only two miles from where he was born.
Called to serve in the U.S. Military from September 1952-September 1954, Ken was recruited to join the Army, and was a Staff Specialist in the School of Chemical Warfare. After his honorable discharge, Ken returned home to New York to join his father’s construction business.
With a natural gift of creative engineering, building design, and hard work, Ken joined the Theatrical Union in New York City as a carpenter building set designs on and off-Broadway. His talents lead him to a position with the Motion Picture Industry and the local Union 52 where he elevated his skills over an illustrious career and retired as a Key Grip. Ken was a division head responsible for designing the positioning of photographic shoots for both silver screen and commercial advertising productions. He worked on scores of movies, and hundreds of commercials with highly esteemed actors and actresses such as Brooke Shields, Dustin Hoffman, Gregory Hines, Paul Neuman and William Holden as well as Academy Award winning directors Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, John Huston and Norman Jewison. His impressive career carried him all over the United States, and around the world.
Ken met his beautiful, and future wife, Delphine in 1955 on a blind date and was married in 1956 and spent almost five decades together raising their children and supporting each other in every way possible. Ken was a die-hard NY Giants fan and loved watching his grandchildren play sports, especially his grandson’s play college football. He was man of dedicated faith and attended Mass regularly.
After retirement and his wife’s passing, Ken concentrated on his carving in the wood shop, or on his back porch overlooking the fairway and 16th green at Hershey’s Mill, painting, gardening and teaching his grandchildren golf, woodworking and refining his cooking skills with new techniques, foods, and knives. He won several first-place ribbons and medals for his carvings.
A Funeral Mass will be held Friday, January 11, 2019 at 11am at St. Patrick’s Church in Malvern. Visitation will take place on Thursday, January 10, 2019 at Alleva Funeral Home, 1724 East Lancaster Avenue, Paoli PA; from 5 pm to 7pm. Burial will be private.
The family welcomes visitation, cards, and letters, and in lieu of flowers, the family suggests gift remembrances made to St. Joseph’s Indian School, Chamberlain, SD 57326 in the name of Delphine and Ken Goss.
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