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- RICHEY - Bernard Goosen, 91, died of natural causes at the Sidney Extended Care Facility on Aug. 23, 2007.
A final celebration of his life will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, at the Bethlehem Mennonite Church with Pastor Darrell Nefzger officiating. Burial will follow in the Bethlehem Mennonite Cemetery. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Richey-Glendive is entrusted with the arrangements.
Bernard was born Dec. 2, 1915, in Marion, S.D., the son of Gerhard and Gertrude Goosen, whose family emigrated to South Dakota from Russia in 1874. Although he only attended school until the eighth grade, Bernard was an educated man, with a particularly strong talent for mechanics. He moved to the Richey area when he married Doris Deckert on Sept. 1, 1940, under the Evergreen tree on the land where Doris' dad homesteaded in 1911. The two of them lived there and raised their children on their farm near the old Divide School, starting out in a house without electricity where all of the cooking was done on a coal-fired stove, and all the water was carried into the house. Always active in his children's education and in their life, Bernard was on the Divide School Board for many years, and later he was an avid sports fan for all Richey High School sports. Even after his sons and grandchildren had graduated, you could always count on Bernard to be faithfully cheering on his mighty Richey Royals. Also a strong, active member of the Bethlehem Mennonite Church, Bernard faithfully attended services there where he often provided special music with his harmonica, until the winter of 2006, when his health required that he move from the family farm to assisted living in Sidney. Besides his skill in farming and mechanic work, Bernard was an excellent woodworker, especially with his creations made from old cedar fence posts. He loved to make cedar jewelry boxes and enjoyed giving them as gifts to those who were special in both his and his family's lives.
Whether it was fishing at Fort Peck and camping in his "motor home" or catching walleye on Tiber Reservoir, Bernard loved relaxing with his family and their friends whenever he got the chance. A man who lived through more changes than most people can imagine, Bernard loved his family, and he loved his farming; his life remains a strong tribute to both.
The youngest in his immediate family, Bernard was preceded in death by his family of 12 brothers and sisters and by his beloved wife of 56 years, Doris Goosen, who passed away in 1996.
Survivors include his immediate family of sons, Jerry Goosen and his wife Kathleen of Savage, Norman Goosen and his wife JoAnn of Bloomfield; daughters, Myrna Gilbertson of Four Oaks, N.C. and Maxine Farrell and her husband Jim of Great Falls; grandchildren Heather (Jamie) Birely, Jodi (Shane) Williams, Blaine (Jessica) Goosen, and Brent (Kelly) Goosen; great-grandchildren Shelby, Cierra and Kodi Birely, Jessica and Sean Williams, Jayden and Taylor Goosen, and Brevyn and Jazmyn Goosen . One sister, Margaret Koch of Colorado Springs, Colo., also survives Bernard, the last of the Goosen line.
Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com.
Published in the Billings Gazette on 8/26/2007.
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1915 - 2007 (91 years)
