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Dan Goheen
August 21, 1929
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March 7, 2000
• VM Recording
• Obituary
• Last email
• Messages |
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Daniel John Goheen, 70
years old, passed away Tuesday, March 7, 2000. He was
born on August 21, 1929, in South Bend IN, to the late
Clarence E. and Grace Ursula (Probst) Goheen. A
resident of Manassas for the past 9 years, he lived most
of his life in Osceola, IN. He is preceded in death by
his beloved wife of 33 years Virginia May “ Ginny”
Fowler.
He and
Ginnie founded and operated Dangi Floor & Wall Covering
in Osceola in 1976. In Manassas, he worked for Century
21 Champions and later Morningside Courier Service. As
a WWII and Korean Crisis veteran, he honorably served
his country, receiving the Medal of Victory.
Survivors
include three daughters, Pat Soltys of Manassas, Linda
Nelund of South Bend, and Barbara Bieganski of
Lancaster, PA; one son Daniel J Goheen, II of Osceola;
nine grandchildren, Jennifer and Mark Soltys, II,
Alexander, Cory and Jessica Nelund, Ben and Matt
Bieganski, Logan and Alaynna Long-Goheen. In addition
to his biological grandchildren, Serena Salzer, Beth
Clark and Mike Botello are considered grandchildren.
Five sisters and one brother also survive, Anita
Greenwood of South Bend, IN, Ila Badke of Appleton
Wisconsin, Aletha Garbacz of Michigan City, IN, Vera
Laskowski of Mishawaka, IN, Theresa Mester of South
Bend, IN and Edmund Goheen of Cocoa Beach, FL.
He was
laid to rest in Olive Cemetery, Wakarusa, IN, Saturday,
March 11, 2000. A memorial gathering for friends and
relatives to celebrate his life and say “good bye” will
be held Sunday, March 26, 2000 at the City Tavern
(upstairs room), Manassas, VA from 3:00 P.M. through
7:00 P.M.
A
memorial scholarship fund has been set up in his name.
Contributions may be made to the Osbourn Park NJROTC
Scholarship Fund at 8909 Euclid Ave., Manassas, VA
20110 |
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Last eMail
sent to all in Dan's Address Book
Subject: With Regret |
It is with deep regret that I am
writing to you for our family. Dan Goheen passed away about
1:30 pm yesterday afternoon at Prince William Hospital. His
death was sudden and unexpected. We will know the cause later
on today but it is expected to have been a blown heart valve or
a blood clot.
He enjoyed life to the fullest extend and cared deeply for his
friends, family and the many lives he touched.
As was his style, he was laughing, joking with the nurses while
eating lunch and died instantly without pain. The doctors were
there when it happened and tried hard to bring him back.
He enjoyed his friends greatly and really loved life through all
of his relationships. His status in life was great when
measured by the love he gave. There are many pictures including
many of you, quite a number that include Dan as well. In each
of his pictures, that trademark smile radiates
warmth and a bit of mischief.
We celebrate his life and will miss him greatly. Visitation
will be at the Palmer Funeral Home in Osceola, IN Saturday at
noon followed by his funeral at 3:00 pm. He will be buried next
to his beloved wife Ginnie on the edge of the woods in Olive
Cemetery. A memorial service will also be held in Manassas, VA
for his friends here in the next couple of weeks. As the
arrangements have not yet been completed, those interested are
welcome to e-mail me for more information You may also call his
phone number and leave a message if it is not answered and I
will return your call.
Thank you for being a part of his life. If you are a part of
this list, I know that you had a place in his heart.
This will probably be the last e-mail from this account as I
will be closing the account soon after this post.
Pat Soltys for his family
Children - Pat, Linda, Barb, Dan II, Our spouses and his
grandchildren
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Messages
The messages sent by so many were most appreciated. Here are a
few excerpts that give insight to the way we will remember Dan
Goheen. |
...Please
know how much Ellen and I care. Dan was a very special
person and I'll always remember him in Virginia Beach
running the young folk into the ground and dancing on a
table, a beer in one hand and two women, one on either
side of him. He was always smiling and I'm sure he is
now.
Dan meant the world to
me. I met him at my first PWP dance at Buckhall
firehouse in 1993. I was standing talking to some
guy and Dan, apparently afraid that this man might
be "hitting on" a new face, walked up, put his arm
around me and said something like "this is my wife
you're talking to" and the guy walked away.
He and I went to lots of
singles events together over the years, however it
was most always bittersweet for him. The
conversation always seemed to turn to a discussion
of his wife Ginnie and how much he missed her. He
can now, finally, be with her into eternity.
While I'll mourn our
loss, I will always remember his smile, his wit, his
kindness and....his mischief. What a wonderful man
he was and how much we'll all miss him!
I know how close you
were to your DAD and you must miss him, but as you know
he is on the big dance floor in the sky, laughing and
bringing them fun as he did here.
I had just talked to him the other
day, and he was supposed to be at the Westpark dance.
He was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. I
haven't known him that long, but thought he was the
best.
I
am very sad that he's gone, yet happy, knowing that
he lived a long and happy life. From what I could
tell, he enjoyed every minute. I'm going to miss the
"Old Tiger"
Your dad was a wonderful
person and my mom and dad enjoyed a close fun friendship
with them. And of course I sort of grew up knowing your
folks. Will never forget the hog roasts. I didn't see
much of you kids, so never really got to know any of
you. My heart goes out to all of you. No matter how
old you are when you lose your parents, it is still a
great void that no one else can fill.
I am sooo sorry.
Your Dad was a great guy who brought so much joy to
other peoples lives. He will be missed.
My contact with him was nourishing and
I can easily understand how he'll be missed. Seeing the
movie "Waking Ned Devine" brought Dan vividly to
mind. Such a mixture of humor, mischief and that unique
brand of Irish verve and bounce back describes him well.
I am so sorry for the loss of
your father. You are right when you said he enjoyed
life and people. He has enriched a lot of lives with
his way of giving and sharing laughter and jokes.
...although you do not know me, I want
to write you and thank you for keeping me informed when
your dad was so ill last year. Your dad was a very good
friend to me and a lot of other people, and it is odd
for woman to have a male friend who is truly a friend.
He spoke to me of your mom and what a close relationship
they had and of the many things they did together with
the camping and scouting when you all were
young. I know he truly missed your mom. I kind of
thought of him as a social director and matchmaker in
our age group. It was funny when he had the beeper and
he'd get beeped to bring home bread, etc.. He was such
a good guy, honest and just a great friend to have. I
will truly miss him and I know there are a lot of his
friends that feel the same way. He just wrote to me a
few days ago to tell me about the diabetes and his cat
scan. I was looking forward to fixing him a sugar-free
meal. You have my sincere sympathy and I know you
will miss him much more than me.
Dear friends !
I'm really sorry to hear about Dan
and his sudden death. I still see him in front
of me as always happy and glad and I remember all
those times I got to meet him and Ginnie home in
Osceola playing pool in the garage over a nice cold
beer. I'm also happy that I got to meet him
again at my return to the US five years after
my exchange student year. The trip we did just
Dan and I from your home then to Ohio was also one
of those moments I will never forget. He was a
very nice man and we will always feel his happiness
around us whenever we think of him. As I wrote
to you when my Mother passed away will fit in now
and I think its a nice thought. "Don't Be Sad
That Dan is Gone Be Happy That He Has Lived"
maybe my translation is bad but I think you
understand the thoughts.
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