L. Geraldine Goetz

Geraldine (Jerry) Goetz died on Feb. 21, 2015 in Odessa. She was born in Roxton, Texas on Dec. 31, 1924. Her parents were the Reverend T.T. Smith and Leola Bell Tidwel.

She grew up on the family farm picking and chopping cotton with her family (one brother, and three sisters.) She was 17 when her father stopped farming and became a Southern Baptist Minister. The next year Jerry was driving to town with two girl friends when they stopped to pick up three good looking Army soldiers who were hitch hiking to Paris, Texas. Her future husband, Jim, crawled into the front seat and the couple began a lifelong relationship. They were married by her father on Feb. 7, 1943.

Jim was wounded in combat in the Philippines during WWII. Upon his recovery, the couple moved to Marlin, Washington and eventually took over the family farm. There they raised three boys Tom, Terry and Greg. Jerry also ran the Marlin grocery store six days a week for nine years. In 1965, the couple moved to Odessa where she worked for the Odessa Trading Company hardware store until she retired in 1989.

During her time in Odessa, she was very active in the Odessa Baptist Church and after the Baptist church closed she became active in the Heritage Church. She and a handful of others started what is now an Odessa tradition, The Odessa Deustches Fest. She served as head of the food committee for 17 years, making 60 to 80 “kuchens” (German coffee cake) every year for over 20 years. She was the last living founder of those early beginnings.

In April of 2012, she and her husband moved into Odessa Memorial where they lived happily until they died.

She is survived by her sons Terry and Greg and her daughters-in-law Jeanne, Lynn and Shari and grandsons and great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband Jim and her son Tom in 2014. A funeral service will be held on Feb. 28, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the Heritage Church in Odessa. She will lie in state at the Heritage Church on Saturday morning, Feb. 28, 2015 from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Memorials may be made to the Odessa Health Care Foundation. Please sign the online guestbook at http://www.stratefuneralhome.com. Strate Funeral Home, Davenport, is caring for the family.