Patricia Spach

Laura Patricia Gooch was born December 17,1945 in Omaha, Nebraska to David and Laura Gooch. She was named after her mother and her beloved Aunt Patricia Delight Baker. “Trish” shared her childhood with her big brother Bruce “Rusty” Gooch, and was later blessed with sisters Jennifer and Kyla.

Growing up, Trish lived in many great places in the Midwest but her favorite was Overland Park, Kansas. It was here that she discovered her life-long fondness for ranchlike settings, playful animal friends, pretty irises and the joy of gardening. She enjoyed training her dogs, raising farm animals, and working at the family vegetable stand. Trish fell in love with babysitting at 11 years old.

Trish attended Wichita Heights High School in Kansas. She was the feature editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, and president of the Theater Club. She continued her love for babysitting and was looking forward to becoming a mother. As a teenager, Trish had picked out 27 potential names for her future children….including nicknames!

While studying Theater at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, Trish met a graduate instructor named George Borron Spach , and they were on stage together in several school productions. George was from the Bronx, New York and his parents had performed on Broadway. Even though Trish had grown up in the rural Midwest and George on the 12th story of an apartment building in New York, they found one another through their shared love of theater. They were married in Colombia, Missouri on December 16, 1967, the day before Trish’s 22nd birthday.

George and Trish started their family in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; then briefly in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming; for many years in Yosemite National Park, California, in Fresno and Clovis; and spent several years in Mariposa and Sequoia Lake. Throughout, Trish took great pride and effort in her calling to be a mother. She devoted her life and many talents to her family. She was a loving wife and unwavering mother to a busy group of 11 children. Her faith in God, gentle and caring nature, partnered with her quick humorous wit grounded her children and husband with a sense of value, security and love that very few are fortunate to be blessed with. Her family was her greatest joy.

On October 31, 2026, Trish passed peacefully at her home in Clovis surrounded by a number of her children who provided comfort, care, love, and prayers.

Trish is preceded in death by her parents, her husband George, and by her great-granddaughter Stella. She is survived by her 11 loving children and spouses: sons David (Julie), Geoffrey, Daniel, Stephen (Katey), Kevin (Irene), Andrew, and Matthew (Diana), and daughters Karena, Kirstin (Graydon), Linnea (Jason), and Audrey; by 26 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren (and one on the way!); by her brother Rusty, sisters Jennifer Keeney and Kyla Robbins, her stepmother Donna Gooch and many extended family and friends.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 am on Monday, November 16, 2026, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 929 Harvard Ave, Clovis, CA 93612.

A Committal Service will follow at St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery, 264 N Blythe Ave, Fresno, CA 93706.