Claudette Kelley Goode

Claudette Kelley Goode, 87, traveled one last time the evening of February 25, 2022, surrounded by loved ones following a cancer diagnosis. Born to Clara and Sam Kelley on July 13, 1934 in Minor Hill, Tennessee, Claudette took her first trips across the city to different churches and events on her father’s bus. Perhaps to finance this burgeoning love of travel, or perhaps for reasons that will remain mysteries to us all, Claudette pursued a career as an LPN. Despite all evidence to the contrary—her daughter, Penny Case, maintains that if they were ever sick it was their father who took care of them—Claudette found her work to be enjoyable. She had a smile that took up her whole face, and it seemed her patients couldn’t help but smile back when she came in and threw the curtains open, asking them how they were doing that day. Claudette had a way with people like that: she loved being the star, and, if she were in the right mood, that light could shine on whoever was around her. Claudette loved people, even if she had her own way of showing it; usually, it was a hand gripping tight on your arm, and her lips on your ear telling you to stop being a “you-know-what.” She was most herself when abroad, whether it was in Colorado, Washington D.C., the warm beaches of Hawaii, or all the way across the pond in England, Germany, France, Italy or Greece. And, while she loved the clothes, the jewelry, and the food, what Claudette most loved about these trips was seeing how other people lived, how they saw the world. She spoke about the wonder of different people and different cultures up until she couldn’t talk anymore. Upon retiring, Claudette turned her love of beautiful things into a passion for flower gardening. Getting her hands dirty was never a problem, but she really loved getting other people’s hands dirty if you happened to stop by for a visit. If you were lucky, and if you pulled enough weeds or arranged a new bed just so, you might have gotten a bulb or two for your own garden and maybe even a thank you over a critique of your technique. Claudette was preceded in death by her husband of fifty years, Hubert Goode, her brother S.J. Kelley, and her parents. She is survived by her brother, T.L. Kelley, and her four children, Debbie Jones, Michael Goode, Scottie Goode and Penny Case, and their spouses, as well as a far branching group of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Claudette was the wife of a farmer, a loving mother, a walking contradiction, hysterically funny and a big pain in the butt, and she will be dearly missed.