1921
Mary
2016
Mary Goates
March 25, 1921 — November 6, 2016
Our beautiful, classy and unconditionally-loving mom and grandma, Mary Louise Hooper Goates went to heaven on November 6, 2016. We all truly wished she could have lived forever. She was such an inspiration and a reassuring and loving presence in all of our lives. She was our rock, a matriarch who accomplished much, yet made it all look easy with her characteristic grace and natural ability to make life run smoothly.
Mary was born on March 25, 1921 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Aubrey William Hooper and Mary Alice Fletcher. She met our Dad, Cloyd Goates, when he walked her home after a junior high dance and they shared an ice cream soda with two straws at Snelgrove’s. She graduated from South High School at age 16. She aspired to become a nurse, yet, in those days, potential nurse candidates were required to live in a nurse’s training facility for three years. Her Mom said ”no way” so Mary decided to major in business. She received her degree from the University of Utah in 1941. With her typical optimism and positive attitude, she would say that business was the perfect major for her, because, during the time that she traveled with our Dad to the states where he was stationed during World War II; her business training helped her get jobs. “If you could type, you could get a job in five minutes.” she said. She held secretarial positions in North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and California. She especially loved the two years when she lived in New York City, despite getting lost in Brooklyn the first time she rode the subway to work. She loved window shopping on Fifth Avenue on her days off. After the war ended and they returned to Utah, she worked as a secretary for Westinghouse. That is, up until the day when Children’s Aid Society of Utah called her to say they had a baby girl for her to pick up the next day. With her characteristic knack for making life happen gracefully, she assembled a baby nursery overnight and called her job to tell them she wouldn’t be coming back. ”They were very nice about it,” she always said.
After that, she was our Mom. Her three children feel that the fates were definitely aligned in our favor when the adoption agency chose to give us to her. We truly thought houses were automatically spotless because she made ours run so seamlessly. Once she told a doctor that, “I’m not a sitter,” and it was true. She might stand in the doorway to see what we were watching on TV or sit on the couch for just a moment, but then she was up and running, cooking, cleaning and doing whatever it took. Our grandmother attended cooking school as a young girl, and we couldn’t help but feel that her culinary skills rubbed off on Mom. She loved cookbooks, gardening, instrumental music, swimming, yoga and the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog. When she was five, her grandfather walked across Liberty Park carrying a cat that he brought to the back fence of her childhood home. He told her Mom, “You’ve got to take this cat; it’s killing my neighbor’s chickens.” Mom had a pet cat–and lots of times more than one– from then on. At one time, she rescued several cats that were left homeless by creating a “cat condo” on her porch. She imparted to us her love for animals. Probably the only times she sat on the couch for any extended time was when a cat was on her lap.
As a world class shopper, if she bought a gift for you–particularly a clothing item–it would somehow be the exact gift you would choose for yourself if you spent all day shopping. As our Dad said, “she looked like a movie star, wore clothes like a million dollars and was elegant in many ways.” From wrapping a birthday gift to arranging an Easter basket to setting a table to (almost) always looking like she stepped out of a fashion magazine, our Mom was always classy.
Yet all of her proficiencies, talents and skills were only the framework for her strongest commitment in life–to maintain encouraging, warm and loving relationships with her family. She remembered every birthday and special occasion with gifts and cards signed in her unique and beautiful handwriting. Dinners, phone calls, visits, and comfort during both happy and tough times were also among her specialties. Mary was always there for us. She had a calm, rational acceptance of life and reassured us by saying, “What will be, will be” and “Someone else is in charge.” and “take what you get.” Yet along with verbal comfort and the uplift only her presence could provide, she would help in any other way that would make the situation better. She was an amazing listener with a wonderful knack for knowing the tough backstory a child was facing without them having to spell it out. We are certain that she faced her own dark days, yet, in ways, she was a private person who almost never complained.
She once said she practically grew up in Provo Canyon, where her Dad loved to fish, and later in life, she lived parts of the year in Yachats, Oregon, where she and Dad built a picturesque, seaside home, that she loved to share with her children and grandchildren. She loved the seafood and great outdoors there and enjoyed exploring the beach and lighthouses. She also adored the home that she grew up in on Coatsville Ave. and spent most of her declining years there.
She was a member of the LDS Church and taught Primary for many years.
By living to age 95, she was, in a way, the “last leaf’ in that her parents, husband, and many friends and family members predeceased her. Still, there are a host of people who love her deeply and will miss her greatly. She is survived by her three children, Carolyn (Grift) Campbell, Keith (Flore), Linda (Scott) Davis, 13 grandchildren and &great grandchildren, special niece, Sandra (Dennis) Clark and two grand-nephews.
Her viewing will be held on Wednesday, November 9th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, and her funeral will be Thursday, November 10th at 1:00 pm with a viewing one hour prior to the services at Memorial Holladay-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT. The family would also like to thank Sunrise Senior Living and Inspiration Hospice for their excellent and tender care of our mom and grandma. Condolences may be left at www.MemorialUtah.com.Service Information
Viewing November 9, 2016 at 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Memorial Hollday-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT
Viewing November 10, 2016 at 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Memorial Hollday-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT
Funeral Service
November 10, 2016 at 1:00 PM
Memorial Hollday-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT
Mary was born on March 25, 1921 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Aubrey William Hooper and Mary Alice Fletcher. She met our Dad, Cloyd Goates, when he walked her home after a junior high dance and they shared an ice cream soda with two straws at Snelgrove’s. She graduated from South High School at age 16. She aspired to become a nurse, yet, in those days, potential nurse candidates were required to live in a nurse’s training facility for three years. Her Mom said ”no way” so Mary decided to major in business. She received her degree from the University of Utah in 1941. With her typical optimism and positive attitude, she would say that business was the perfect major for her, because, during the time that she traveled with our Dad to the states where he was stationed during World War II; her business training helped her get jobs. “If you could type, you could get a job in five minutes.” she said. She held secretarial positions in North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and California. She especially loved the two years when she lived in New York City, despite getting lost in Brooklyn the first time she rode the subway to work. She loved window shopping on Fifth Avenue on her days off. After the war ended and they returned to Utah, she worked as a secretary for Westinghouse. That is, up until the day when Children’s Aid Society of Utah called her to say they had a baby girl for her to pick up the next day. With her characteristic knack for making life happen gracefully, she assembled a baby nursery overnight and called her job to tell them she wouldn’t be coming back. ”They were very nice about it,” she always said.
After that, she was our Mom. Her three children feel that the fates were definitely aligned in our favor when the adoption agency chose to give us to her. We truly thought houses were automatically spotless because she made ours run so seamlessly. Once she told a doctor that, “I’m not a sitter,” and it was true. She might stand in the doorway to see what we were watching on TV or sit on the couch for just a moment, but then she was up and running, cooking, cleaning and doing whatever it took. Our grandmother attended cooking school as a young girl, and we couldn’t help but feel that her culinary skills rubbed off on Mom. She loved cookbooks, gardening, instrumental music, swimming, yoga and the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog. When she was five, her grandfather walked across Liberty Park carrying a cat that he brought to the back fence of her childhood home. He told her Mom, “You’ve got to take this cat; it’s killing my neighbor’s chickens.” Mom had a pet cat–and lots of times more than one– from then on. At one time, she rescued several cats that were left homeless by creating a “cat condo” on her porch. She imparted to us her love for animals. Probably the only times she sat on the couch for any extended time was when a cat was on her lap.
As a world class shopper, if she bought a gift for you–particularly a clothing item–it would somehow be the exact gift you would choose for yourself if you spent all day shopping. As our Dad said, “she looked like a movie star, wore clothes like a million dollars and was elegant in many ways.” From wrapping a birthday gift to arranging an Easter basket to setting a table to (almost) always looking like she stepped out of a fashion magazine, our Mom was always classy.
Yet all of her proficiencies, talents and skills were only the framework for her strongest commitment in life–to maintain encouraging, warm and loving relationships with her family. She remembered every birthday and special occasion with gifts and cards signed in her unique and beautiful handwriting. Dinners, phone calls, visits, and comfort during both happy and tough times were also among her specialties. Mary was always there for us. She had a calm, rational acceptance of life and reassured us by saying, “What will be, will be” and “Someone else is in charge.” and “take what you get.” Yet along with verbal comfort and the uplift only her presence could provide, she would help in any other way that would make the situation better. She was an amazing listener with a wonderful knack for knowing the tough backstory a child was facing without them having to spell it out. We are certain that she faced her own dark days, yet, in ways, she was a private person who almost never complained.
She once said she practically grew up in Provo Canyon, where her Dad loved to fish, and later in life, she lived parts of the year in Yachats, Oregon, where she and Dad built a picturesque, seaside home, that she loved to share with her children and grandchildren. She loved the seafood and great outdoors there and enjoyed exploring the beach and lighthouses. She also adored the home that she grew up in on Coatsville Ave. and spent most of her declining years there.
She was a member of the LDS Church and taught Primary for many years.
By living to age 95, she was, in a way, the “last leaf’ in that her parents, husband, and many friends and family members predeceased her. Still, there are a host of people who love her deeply and will miss her greatly. She is survived by her three children, Carolyn (Grift) Campbell, Keith (Flore), Linda (Scott) Davis, 13 grandchildren and &great grandchildren, special niece, Sandra (Dennis) Clark and two grand-nephews.
Her viewing will be held on Wednesday, November 9th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, and her funeral will be Thursday, November 10th at 1:00 pm with a viewing one hour prior to the services at Memorial Holladay-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT. The family would also like to thank Sunrise Senior Living and Inspiration Hospice for their excellent and tender care of our mom and grandma. Condolences may be left at www.MemorialUtah.com.Service Information
Viewing November 9, 2016 at 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Memorial Hollday-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT
Viewing November 10, 2016 at 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Memorial Hollday-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT
Funeral Service
November 10, 2016 at 1:00 PM
Memorial Hollday-Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT
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