Rita Goense

TRAVERSE CITY — Rita J. (DeYoung) Goense, 85, of Traverse City, died Sept. 27, 2011, at Munson Hospice House. Rita was born on Feb. 2, 1926, in Owosso, the daughter of Melbourne C. and Bertha (Ford) DeYoung. She graduated from St. Paul's High School in Owosso, attended Aquinas College in Grand Rapids and the Detroit Business Institute. She spent her childhood in the Detroit area, her youth in Owosso and her summers at the family cottage on Crystal Lake near Beulah. Rita was an executive secretary at Douglas Motor Freight in Owosso and at the John Widdicomb Furniture Company in Grand Rapids. She was a member and an officer of the Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority, a professional business women's organization. Rita married John G. Goense in Owosso on Sept. 11, 1954. With John's career, they lived in Owosso, Flint, Mt. Clemens, Rochester Hills, Grand Rapids and Traverse City. They moved to Leelanau County in 1994. Rita was active in a number of Ladies Altar Societies at the various Catholic Parishes to which the family belonged. She also served as a Library Assistant, Home Room Mother and Playground Monitor. She was also a member of the Terrace Garden Club in Traverse City and the Northwestern Michigan Artists and Craftsman. She was a talented oil painter and gourmet cook, and enjoyed sharing her paintings and wonderful means with her family. She was a member of the St. Francis Funeral Luncheon Committee and a charter member of the Emmaus Society of the Gaylord Diocese. Rita was also a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. Rita and her husband, John, also enjoyed traveling and visited all 50 states, as well as Canada, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland and England. Rita is survived by her husband, John; their four children, John M., of Chicago, Ill., Mrs. Jack (Diane) White, of Middleville, Mark, of Traverse City, and Mrs. Michael (Carol) Tafelsky, of Lake Ann; and four grandchildren, Jacqueline Rae, John Edward and Alexandra Elizabeth Goense, of Chicago, and Michaella JoAnne Tafelsky, of Lake Ann. Rita was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. Visitation for friends and family will be held on Friday, Sept. 30, 2011, from 5 to 7 p.m., with a scripture service to begin at 7 p.m., at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, at St. Francis Catholic Church, at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Oakwood Catholic Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Rita's honor may be directed to the American Cancer Society or for Mass Intentions at St. Francis. Please visit www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com to share your thoughts and memories with the family. The family is being served by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.

Rita Goense

September 27, 2011