Duane Goode

Duane Goode, of Westminster, Colorado, passed away on Friday, December 31, 2010. Born on March 25, 1938 in Des Moines, IA to DeWitt and Dorothea Goode. Duane Goode Eulogy By Greg Goode In 1958, Duane married Colleen (Casey) Goode and raised two sons, Greg and Jeff. ""Mr. Goode"" taught history for 13 years at Schleswig High School in Iowa, followed by 14 years as school principal. In Colorado, he taught history at Brighton Charter School for four years and worked as a substitute teacher in Northglenn and Westminster. He was a teacher, a mentor, and a man who cared about kids and what they made of themselves. His students appreciated his wit, candor and most of all his teachings. He taught academics, but more importantly he taught valuable life lessons and challenged them to be better people. Duane Goode was a unique individual who could develop instant rapport, even with someone he just met. His sense of humor was unparalleled. He was a wonderful husband, father and friend. The memories of who he was, what he stood for, and how he helped and enriched the lives of everyone he met will forever be cherished. He is survived by his wife of 52 years Colleen, sons Greg and Jeff, brothers Don Goode and Rusty Goode, sister Vicki Gaertner and grandson Sion Owen. A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 11am at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel located at 7577 W. 80th Ave. in Arvada. In lieu of flowers, Memorial Donations may be made to Denison Community Education Foundation to establish a scholarship for a Schleswig student. Donations may be mailed to Horan & McConaty, 7577 West 80th Ave., Arvada, CO 80003. On behalf of the family, I want to thank everyone for showing up to pay respects and also thank those who could not attend but posted very thoughtful comments on facebook or in the online www.horancares.com website. It has given our family and especially mom much warmth and comfort to see you, hear from you, and read your wonderful thoughts. We have been the lucky recipients of a lifetime of relationships dad cultivated. You have given back to us a bit of what he gave to you and we are grateful. Dozens of thoughtful posts from friends and former students represent the impact he had in their lives. By the way, in lieu of flowers, we would like to set up a Memorial fund for a deserving Schleswig student. Donations may be made to the Denison Community Education Foundation and mailed to Horan & McConaty, 7577 W. 80th Avenue, Arvada, CO 80003. Originally we were going to say, ""in lieu of flowers, please put $25 on the Packers!é Those of you who knew dad would understand this piece of humor. Early life D. Goode was born on March 25, 1938 in Des Moines, IA to DeWitt and Dorothea Goode. On Christmas the family watched many home movies that his father and mother took during the 1940s, 1950's, and 1960's. Dad named off every single person in these videos (dozens of people and places). He remembered them by name and frequently paused to tell stories of each (big surprise, right?). He was really proud of his heritage. Or to put it in a more familiar way, he was proud of ""who he was and where he came from.é He had a crisp mind and a photographic memory that allowed him to be a master storyteller and philosopher. In the 1980's when trivial pursuit came out, my mom, my brother, his brother and me would try to beat dad at Trivia. It was four against one. We never stood a chance. He would answer every question correctly. Once, we never even got a chance to roll the dice. He was truly brilliant and had no idea why! He would joke, ""I'm a storehouse of worthless information that is of no value whatsoever!é Dad was also a great athlete and a proud graduate of Runnels High School in Runnels, Iowa. He earned all state honors as a quarterback in football. He was also an accomplished singer, as many of you know from late nights at the piano. (He and several Schleswig friends would end up around the piano singing after an evening of good food and drink. They had a marvelous time!) Dad participated in singing at the state level and sang for many weddings and funerals. He was also an excellent basketball and baseball player. But his voice was golden. Many students heard him whistling or singing in the hallways. He loved music. College Years Duane Goode attended the University of Iowa and met his future wife there, Colleen Casey. Dad was a ""Delt"" and mom was a ""Delta Gamma."" He managed to win her heart. They were certainly opposites, mom being more of good Christian girl who live life ""between the fence posts.é Dad, parlaying mischievous, boyish charm and quick wit into impeccable communication skills and lived mostly outside the fence posts! They celebrated 52 years together! They were married in 1958 . . . on January 4th. [Note to readers - I took time for people to absorb this ""date"" and repeated it from the podium for people to process . . . that today, the day of the funeral, was also their anniversary. ] Isn't that a coincidence? This really is a special day. My friend Thomas who is here today, says, ""a coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.é Great Husband As many of you know, dad always called mom ""Queenie"" or ""Queen Bee."" Dad was always passionate about his roots and recently traveled with mom back to Bloomfield, Iowa to visit his grandparent's graves. The eighty year old caretaker at the cemetery showed them the graves and knew dad's grandpa Newland. The caretaker said to mom and dad, ""your grandpa had the funniest name for your grandma . . . what did he call her . . . oh yes, he called her ""queenie."" Well, needless to say dad looked at mom and it made you wonder. Probably just another coincidence. Pop had a quick wit and was a master story teller to anyone who would listen! And boy, if he got a new audience, well, be prepared to her the same stories . . . over and over! One evening when mom and dad were out to eat with ""a new audience"" of staff from the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH), where mom worked, his stories had them in stitches, as was frequently the case. At the end of the night, mom's friend Elaine turned to her and said ""Oh Colleen, you must laugh all the time"" Dad loved to tell this story too. It was hysterical - hell, we were so sick of these anecdotes and gave him crap about it. But when it came to storytelling, pop was impervious to pain! God he loved to make people laugh and tell stories. He never forgot who he was or where he came from. Dad was a devoted husband. He never missed any of the award ceremonies honoring mom or her staff at UCH. He frequently accompanied her on many national and international speaking engagements [mom's resume contains eleven pages of awards, presentations, service activities that include local, state, and national service positions . . . single spaced; so he was busy!]. Something you may not know - Dad would frequently send mom flowers and would often make her a birthday card as opposed to purchasing one. A few of these are in the lobby - I'd read one but they are so touching, there is no way I could get through it at the podium. His command of written communication was as superb as speaking skills. He could be very romantic. Great father Dad was a great father and never missed an athletic event Jeff and I participated in. He loved us and showed it. He also understood the role discipline played in love. When I was declared ineligible for sports at age 14, he made me go out for track and work off my ineligibility by running the two mile race. Mind you, I was a short, chubby kid who could have gotten lapped in the 100 yard dash. So this was quite the punishment. But he was patient and persistent and predictable. If he asked you to do something once, he expected you to do it. If he had to ask again, he expected you to do it. If he had to ask a third time, be prepared for a different communication strategy. He would do what it took to make his point. He was actually quite patient . . . but when this patience ran out. . . well, many reading this know the consequences! It was ""old school."" The intent was to teach, to learn. In the many Facebook postings, his unique disciplinary nature was addressed fondly by students. This one is from Brent Jenson regarding a comment dad made to him: ""D. Goode to Brent Jensen - V 1982: I don't care if you have a pass from the pope to see the second coming from Christ, you are not leaving that study hall."" What is interesting is, this was 28 years ago. Brent remembers the year! He is also willing to post this publicly on Facebook! I also know there are many other intervening factors Brent is leaving out. Dad built any student discipline on a foundation of love. If you were underachieving in his class, don't expect a hug. You didn't get status quo. Also, it's worth noting that he did not label a student as an ""underachiever."" He saw more in students than they could see in themselves and would push to bring them ""up to par"" so to speak. He wanted you to learn, to achieve, to be prepared for life. He knew from experience of how painful life can be without developing integrity, social skills, life skills (Dad has some very difficult times as a Sophomore in high school that left an imprint on his life. He made big mistakes and understood the consequences of them. He knew where you were headed if these mistakes in judgment were allowed to continue.) So he took what I would call ""risks"" in remedying these situations. Dad was really upset with a student who did poorly on an Indian history test. He gave the student a grade of ""Q""(an ""F"" was too high of a score). Here is the students recollection, posted on facebook: Kevin Christie: D. Goode provided me with one of the most memorable moments in high school I could have ever had...and for years after hs, he would come up to see Dr. Sinnott, stop at the club for a couple, and tell anybody who would listen to him....about the day he gave Kevin Christie a grade of ""Q"" on an Indian History test...yep...far worse than an ""F"".....what a great sense of humor he had!"" This happened 32 years ago! Hey, dad really was upset at Kevin and I'm sure he let him know it. But those other intervening factors we are unaware of - he loved his students and wanted the best for them. His motivational tactics were, in the words of former principal Grant Stimpson, ""unique."" Kevin got the message and still remembers the lesson 33 years later. I recently read a book called ""Lincoln on Leadershipé and was dramatically struck on how similar Abraham Lincoln's approach to others was like dads. If you read the book, you will notice it too. Realize first that Lincoln was one of the most hated people in history, so this isn't all ""flowery."" People in lead roles take risks and assume the rewards and consequences. Lincoln was labeled a hero after his death. He failed at many things, made many mistakes, but was a superb person and communicator who took risks. He had more victories than failures. He was also a hero of dads. You always knew where you stood with D. Goode. As Jeff said, you didn't always agree with his opinion and he would respect yours. It would be an illusion to assume D Goode was loved by all. Like Lincoln, he took risks with students to get through to them. While dad was superb at diplomacy, he was not a diplomat nor was it his intent to be one. He could really piss people off in an effort to reach them. Problem was, he was right most of the time! Also, there was a national best seller this past year called ""S*&% My Dad Says."" One of the funniest books Dad, Jeff and I ever read. Do yourself a favor and buy it. It's a true book about a dad who communicates with a certain unique candor. Someone with integrity too! This dad actually makes D. Goode look a little tame, but I image they would have been good friends. Superb teacher Dad earned a teaching certificate from Yankton College in 1967 He had two master's degrees in History and Educational Administration. He taught history at Schleswig High School for 14 years and was a principal for 13 years. The students at Schleswig High School voted ""Mr. Goode"" to be their keynote speaker . . . . . . 14 years in a row. That is the impact he had. He would address each student by name and tell a story. Every year, 14 years in a row, not counting the year I graduated in 1976. That would make 15. Mom and dad would occasionally vacation with their close friends Ed and Lois Skinner in Maine. Maine is a few thousand miles away from Colorado. As they were descending a steep flight of stairs down to the Atlantic, they heard this young voice from the beach yelling enthusiastically, ""There is my teacher! There is Mr. Goode!"" and came running up to greet dad. They shared a warm moment together. [It was one of dad's students - after dad retired from being a principal, he got back into the classroom teaching history at Brighton Charter School in Colorado, spreading his life messages to a new audience...receiving honors in CO too!] What's funny about this story is, dad was actually quite a humble guy, but he LOVED playing up that he was anything but! So when this occurred, he knew this kind of unabashed popularity would drive Ed Skinner crazy in a warm and fun way. Ed being the consummate lawyer, politician, and extremely well known in Iowa and nationally, was ""once again"" playing second fiddle to dad's popularity (this is actually not the case - we just do not let integrity get in the way of storytelling). It was all in good fun and was a good source of banter between the two and was one of those stories that ""made the rounds multiple occasions."" Imagine what Ed was thinking . . . here I am clear the hell out in Maine and I cannot go somewhere where someone does not know D. Goode! Dad was so proud of his students. He loved them. Dad loved history too, especially Indian History. He started an Indian history class, the first of its kind in Iowa . . . possibly nationally. Many of us developed a passion for history based on his enthusiasm for it. He could really tell stories and made history interesting. His former students made many postings about his humor and teaching skills. Here are a few more samples: Gale Ehlers-Randall wrote: ""What a great man! I will never forget my senior year spring sports banquet and he called me ""The Best Hooker"" on the girls golf team! He was so witty! He never called me by my real name...he called me ""Kermit"" as I got caught sticking my tongue out at him. He sent me a letter about 5 years ago when I was voted ""Teacher of the Year"" and he addressed it to ""Kermit""! He was The Man!!!"" Timothy O'Brien: I have had many fond memories come flooding back all day - the golf team of course, the late night steak & mushroom meals, the jumble words. He truly left his indelible imprint on us all. I am sad, but feel so fortunate to have had him in my life. Many, many students referenced their fondness for ""jumble words."" Dad would have students do the jumble words every day. It got students to read the paper! It also challenged them. One night in the late 70s or early 80s, dad had been to a turtle fry. He did not eat any, but brought it home and strategically placed it on the top shelf in the middle of the refrigerator. He knew that Tim O'Brien and I were out partying and would raid the fridge. Let me say that deep fried turtle, during the daylight looks like . . . well, turtle! However, at 2:00 in the morning it looks remarkably like chicken. So we ate the ""chicken"" and Tim lost a tooth in the process (no kidding). Gawd . . . another story I had to listen to for 30 years. Another story from Brent Jensen: Guys, I remember once I was back in Schleswig over spring break. My dad, your dad, Bill Petersen and John Cassens were playing Spit in Tri County office. They decided that they needed to have some drinks. My dad told me to take the pickup to the liquor store and get a bottle of Black Velvet. Your dad says ""Hold on, BJ, there's is a pretty good chance that there is a bottle under the drivers seat of my car."" I went out to his car and by golly there was a full fifth of BV. Your dad says ""I want everyone to know as a habit I don't have a bottle under my seat, out of necessity I do, but not habit."" Classic A razor sharp wit! Each of us have several stories to warm us for a lifetime. As you may or may not know, dad was a very spiritual person. He received a ""perfect attendance"" pin at Sunday school as a child. However, he wasn't much for organized religion. Still, he had a closer relationship with God than many will ever know. Some years back, a deeply religions minister, asked . . . Duane, have you ever been saved? Dad's response, ""nope, but I've been put on layaway a few times!"" A quick play on words and a hysterical response that also contained a message, all rolled up into one neat statement. It had the additional intended effect of ending the conversation. Even in sickness, his humor was sharp. When he knew death was imminent, while signing ""do not resuscitate"" papers. The physician asked . . . Duane, if you have a heart attack, what do you want us to do? Dad's response: take me to the crematorium. Oh, why do you want to be cremated? Dad's response: Well, I quit cigarettes in 1987 - this will be my last chance to smoke! [Now, it may not look good in print - but if you were there, this was gut wrenchingly funny; here is an end of life stressful decision on everyone. It's painful - hell, anyone can figure that out. But he is making people laugh - putting them at ease. There are worse things than dying - like never knowing who you are, or where you came from. He was a man who knew how to live.] When his father, ""Doc Goode"" died, dad said ""He had more integrity than any man I ever met. . . . but never let that get in the way of telling a good story."" In one sentence he summarized this wonderful man and who he was about. The same can be said for dad. Touching Base It's a wonderful thing to go through life and have one best friend to share laughter, warmth, and fun. Dad had dozens. Many, many people called crying, saying ""Duane Goode was the best friend I ever had."" People from South Dakota, Iowa, Colorado. Wherever he went, he made friends. He really cared about others. Dad never missed a Runnels high school reunion! He loved being from this little community and being a part of their lives. He went back 2-3 times a year to visit lifelong friends. He made frequent trips back to Schleswig and Ida Grove Iowa to visit his many close friends there. He made trips to Yankton, S. D. to do the same. I remember a source of contention in the Goode household about 30 years ago. We didn't have all that much money - yet our phone bills regularly exceeded $200 per month! No kidding. Dad was busy ""touching base"" with friends and family. He never forgot who he was or where he came from. That is why he said it so much to those of you who were part of his life. ""Never forget who you are or where you come from."" He did not want you to forget - he wanted you to know this was the recipe for living a happy life. While dad enjoyed many of the finer things in life, friends and family were always, always at the top of the list. He kept in contact with others. Isn't it interesting that dad passed away on New Year's Eve? Is it another ""coincidence?"" For one, it's a day of celebration - every new years the rest of your life you will be able to celebrate his passing with a toast or two - he would really, really like that! But more importantly, if there is one day of the year that gives us time to pause and reflect, this is the day. It is the end of a year, it is time to look back. It is time to think about the year ahead and what really matters in life. Dad knew what really mattered. He wanted you to know the importance of ""touching base."" I called my friend Jenny on Saturday to catch up. She does not know dad well nor his philosophies or the contents of this Eulogy. I asked her what she was up to and here was her response: ""I've been writing my family letters all day. I haven't done that in a long, long time. There is something different about hand writing a letter. It makes me feel good."" Jenny is feeling good because by doing this, she is not ""forgetting who she is or where she came from."" She is ""touching base"" with those most important to her. Once again, I'm left to wonder if this phone call and response is a coincidence. Interestingly, while dad had a cell phone, to my knowledge, he never sent a text message. Nor did he ever send an e-mail. I suspect there is an unwritten rule for ""touching base,"" you need to call or visit or handwrite a letter. So as this the start of the new year, it's time to ask, ""have we forgotten who we are, where we came from? Are we touching base? Have you handwritten a letter lately or made a personal phone call or visit to someone you care about? How often? Upon hearing of dad's passing our cousin, Craig Struve wrote these wonderful words. I've asked a neutral third party, Pastor John, to read it. It is not possible for me to get through this. Thank you for your support, your time and your friendship. You mean the world to our family. Pastor John . . . Colleen, Greg, Jeff, family, and friends . . . I loved D. Goode for so many things, not the least of which was the instant rapport he could develop with anyone, even someone he just met. He embodied the goodness of all the Iowa people I know, and his sense of humor was unparalleled. He was a teacher, a mentor, and a man who cared about kids and what they made of themselves. It is clear that most of those kids appreciated his wit, his candor and his teachings. He taught them academics, but more importantly he taught them valuable life lessons. It is both Kay's and my fervent wish that you cherish the memories of who he was, what he stood for, and how he helped and enriched the lives of everyone he met. Godspeed Duane, until we meet again. Please share your memories of Duane and condolences with his family by selecting the ""Sign Guestbook"" button.