Connie (Constance) Goshon

Connie (Constance) Goshon, of Marshalltown, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, December 16, 2012 surrounded by her loving family under the wonderful care of the Iowa River Hospice Home.Constance (Connie) Rae Moore was born in Iowa City, Iowa on Tuesday, July 30th, 1940 to Forrest 'Frosty' and Lila Moore (Hayes). As a youth Connie's family moved frequently, living in 30 different homes as far as all four borders of the mainland, where she attended over 20 different schools, before settling in Ferguson, Iowa. She was a cheerleader, worked on the senior class fund raiser and ads for the senior yearbook, then graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1958. Connie married Richard Goshon and had three children, Jennifer, Jeff & Michael, and lived on the Goshon family farm near Ferguson. The family traveled all over the U.S. on vacation but also spent a lot of summer time at Zesch Lake, currently Green Castle Recreation Area, water skiing, boating and having picnics. These activities were also done on their biannual trips to Minnesota, adding snowmobiling to the fun in the winters. All three kids attended and graduated from LDF Community Schools, where Connie drove a school bus for many years. They later divorced after Connie moved to Marshalltown, remaining there until her death, minus a brief stay in Pleasantville as a nursing home manager. She also briefly resided in Florida during winter home stays while working as a private duty nurse for J.W. (Bill) Fisher. She additionally held the same position for his sister Emily Cartwright, all the while befriending their other sister Martha Ellen Tye.Connie worked at many popular Marshalltown businesses such as Van's, Totem Bowl and Tallcorn Towers before starting her career in nursing. After being paid five cents to apply a band aid as a seven year old in Herlong, California for her first paying nursing job, the rest is history. She went to nursing school at Marshalltown Community College, earning her LPN in 1973, then worked at Marshalltown Hospitals. She also earned her ADN during her career and continued this path until she achieved her BSN in psychology at Buena Vista College, graduating in May of 1989. Her love of teaching became reality as she was a nursing professor for Marshalltown Community College and in the Iowa Valley Continuing Education program. She served many roles there including teaching many workshops, being on the IVCCD Health Advisory Board, UNC Chair, Legislative Committee, and MCC Faculty Senate, to name a few. She retired but continued to work part-time until her health kept her from doing so. Her students will probably remember her most for the saying, 'Look it up', while the family endearingly remembers, 'Just one more thing'. Connie's love of photography was well documented in her picture albums as well as her love of travel. She had many highlights during her trips, including travel studies in the former USSR, Spain, Italy and Great Britain. The latter included more visits as she finally met her long-time pen pal since 1960, and her family. Other loves included gardening and flowers, which became immediately obvious to anyone who visited or even just drove by her home, or when viewing those same picture albums. Cooking was another passion as she was amazing at creating her own dishes and handing them down to her family. Crafting and doll making also kept Connie very busy, especially in her later years. She was very active in her family's lives, always hosting Christmas Eve and many birthdays each year. Surviving Connie from daughter Jennifer Curphy's family are granddaughter Maranda Rae (Curphy) Beck and her husband Heath, and their children Corallee, Hayz and Naela, grandson Chance Curphy, his wife Amber and their children Victoria and Reese. Son Jeff (Sherry) Goshon's family include grandson Tatum (Rachel) Uetz and kids Colton, Evy, Rhiannon, Scarlett, and Sophia, grandson Shane (Shaybree) Goshon and their daughter Savea, and grandson Matthew (Chelsea) Goshon and their daughters Molly and Emma. Son Michael Goshon's kids are granddaughter Gina and grandson Jackson. Connie is also survived by uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews as well as many, many friends.Connie was preceded in death by her mother Lila Hayes, her aunt Bonnie Hayes, sister Sherry Athey, nephew Mark Luhcs, and beloved granddaughter Valinda (Lyndi) Curphy.A memorial fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank.Visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 26, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home in Marshalltown, Iowa with the funeral service on December 27, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. also at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home, with the burial then a luncheon to follow. Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Connie and her family. Phone 641-844-1234