So, from California, Hawaii, California again, Texas, Virginia, New York and now finally Indiana.  They were absolutely devoted to each other.    
When I got that call last Friday, my mind immediately went back to that very first phone call almost fifty years ago.  It made me realize what Goldie was trying to tell me.  It wasn’t that she felt she had known my little brother Tom his whole life, she was telling me that she was going to spend the rest of her life with my little brother Tom.
And she did.
Uncle Marty

I want to tell you a short story about the first time I met Goldie.
In the fall of 1976, my little brother Tom stopped by my house to tell me he had just enlisted in the United States Navy.  When are you leaving I  asked; he said ‘tomorrow’.  
Fast forward to maybe a year, year and half.  My brother was now, I believe, at his first duty station in San Diago, California.  He calls me on the phone and says, “I want to introduce you to someone.”  That person was Goldie.  We talked for a while, and I kept thinking about here was my little brother, three thousand miles from home, in the Navy, and he has a girlfriend.  How cool is that.  After we hung up, I had this feeling that Goldie was trying to tell me that she felt like she had known my brother for some time now.  Well, I was a little confused because I was just there visiting something like two months prior and I just could not remember Tom saying he had met anyone.  
Now, it’s almost fifty years later.  Tom and Goldie were married, multiple navy deployments, two wonderful children: Thomas, Goldie Marie, and more recently a new son-in-law, Chris.  Over the years I made several visits when they were stateside, and Goldie always made me feel welcome.  Now, I know I made her mad at times, because I would just come into town and steal my brother away to just hang out.  One time Tom introduced me to the new restaurant, Taco Bell.  Well, we would get home and Goldie would be there asking where her Taco Bell was.  But she always made me feel welcome; always had a place for me.  We talked on the phone many times over the years, and when I would ask how things were going, I never heard Tom say, “I did this, I did that, I went there”.  It was always “Goldie and I did this, Goldie and I did that, Goldie and I went there”.  And when he didn’t call her Goldie, it was “momma”.

To Uncle Tom, Goldie Marie and Chris, and Thomas,

I wish I could take your pain away. I can't imagine how you all feel. Remember that it is more than okay to feel how you feel and to take the time you need to have any semblance of normalcy again. I know its trite and oversaid, but I am here for you. Goldie Marie you have my number and you can give it to your dad and brother. I'm there for a text or a call if you need someone to talk to. 
God bless you all and Goldie.

Love,
Chris

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Goldie Ivy Genska

March 29, 1956 – November 28, 2025

Elzey-Patterson-Rodak Funeral Home

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