Obituary of Ethel M. Goeden

Ethel M. Goeden, age 99 of Yankton, SD passed away Sunday, April 7, 2024 at Avera Sister James Hospice House, Yankton, SD.  Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM, Friday, April 12, 2024 at St. Benedict Catholic Church, Yankton, SD with Rev. Joe Forcelle officiating.  Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery, Yankton, SD.  Visitations will be 5 to 7 PM, Thursday, April 11, 2024 at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home & Crematory, Yankton, SD with a Scripture service at 7:00 PM.  Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church.  Online condolences may be sent at: www.opsahlpkostelfuneralhome.com.  Live streaming of Ethel’s service can be found at: https://my.gather.app/remember/ethel-goeden.

Ethel Maxine Christensen Goeden was born on October 20, 1924, to Christian and Alta (Hackett) Christensen in Yankton, SD.  She was one of seven children.  Ethel received her schooling in Yankton and graduated from Yankton High School.  She married Joseph F. Goeden on June 18, 1942, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church.  To this union were born 3 children – Diana, Kent, and Raymond.

Throughout the years, Ethel worked at Gurney Nursery, J.J. Newberry Store, Bob’s Bookkeeping, and did the books for her husband at Goeden Construction, Inc. for 34 years.

Ethel belonged to several extension clubs in the Yankton area.  She was proudly chosen as ‘Honored State Homemaker of the Year’.  She was also ‘Volunteer of the Year’ multiple times.  Much of her volunteer work included being a Senior Companion for several years. 

Ethel was a proud member of the VFW Auxiliary 791 in Yankton, the American Legion, and the Yankton Senior Center where she served as President.

Ethel and Joe were both charter members of the Yankton Antique Auto Club for many years.  Her love for antique cars had her owning a 1930 Model A Roadster with a rumble seat that has been seen in many parades in the Yankton area.

Ethel was coordinator of Foreign Exchange Students for several years.  Her and Joe hosted three exchange students: Eric from Norway, Lotta from Sweden, and Magnus from Sweden.  Joe and Ethel have been overseas several times to visit them.  As coordinator she placed one of her grandsons, Keith, in Sweden for a year.  Ethel and Joe loved to travel and have toured all but 3 states in the United States. Many of those travels included reunions with the 818^th Tank Destroyer Battalion.

Ethel never turned down a chance to babysit for her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  She enjoyed teaching them how to cook, knit, and do crafts.  She enjoyed going to her grandchildren’s activities.  Ethel dearly loved the holidays with family and made sure memories were made for everyone.  Ethel loved playing the organ and enjoyed playing cards and dominoes, she was an avid reader, and loved doing crafts.

Even during her recent illness, health care workers were astounded by her ability to remember names and stories.  Her memory was amazing but don’t ask her three children to repeat any of them because they didn’t inherit her memory.

Grateful for having shared her life are her family; Diana (the late Dennis) Shepherd of Oacoma, Kent (Ruby) Goeden of Yankton, Raymond (Barb) Goeden of Mission Hill, 18 grandchildren, 34 great grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents Alta and Chris, her husband Joe, her son-in-law Dennis Shepherd, three brothers, three sisters, and several in-laws.