Joyce Eleanor Goff

Joyce passed away at 11:15 pm Monday, Nov 28 at her daughter’s residence. She was born on March 25, 1933, in Chicago, IL. She was the second of three daughters born to Dessie (Waddell) and Clyde Landon. She moved to Galesburg with her family when she was nine years old. They lived on Jefferson Street where her father would flood their driveway in the winter to create an ice rink for his daughters and the neighbors. Joyce attended Bateman School, Hitchcock, and graduated from the old GHS in 1951. Her first official job was with Higgins Dairy. Charlie Brown hired Joyce as a ticket Clerk at the Orpheum Theatre back when movie tickets were ten cents. She waitressed at the American Beauty Restaurant and was a payroll clerk and switchboard operator for the Burlington Truck Lines. After marrying Dave L Goff, on July 5, 1953 she moved to the east coast where she waitressed at Kresge’s in Norfolk, VA while Dave was in the Navy. She loved to read and play cards. “If,” by Rudyard Kipling, was her favorite poem, and Bridge was her favorite card game. Joyce and Dave had three children, Nancy M Goff, Galesburg, Dean L (Dana Humes) Goff, Pekin, IL, and Steven R Goff, Galesburg. She had three grandchildren, Kristen Goff, Galesburg, IL, Katie (Matt) Pontifex, Lansing, Michigan, and David (Stephanie) Goff of Greenview, IL. And seven great grandchildren; Alyssa, Emerson, Ava, Brooklyn, Ellie, Aubrey, and Daxton. Joyce was best known in the neighborhood for her love of children. She often watched friends’ and neighbors’ kids. She was also known for her cake decorating and her artistic flair. She was a floral designer for Anderson Florists for 14 years. Joyce made beautiful arrangements and created art of all kinds. She sold her holiday items at her annual Browning Mansion Christmas Craft Sale and the Spoon River Scenic Drive. She was employed at From the Heart to do the same. Joyce taught both cake decorating and floral design for Carl Sandburg College. She liked to cook and was a wonderful baker and candy maker. Her latest hobby was painting rocks in the worldwide kindness movement where she also helped administer the local Facebook group called G’rocks. She enjoyed sewing, crafting, planting gardens, and eating ice cream. Witty, feisty, and fun, Joyce was a wonderful mother, a fantastic friend, and kind to all. If you knew her, you loved her. Joyce will be cremated, with her ashes spread over the places that meant so much to her in her life. A gathering celebrating both Dave and Joyce’s lives will be Saturday, November 11, 2023 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Lake Bracken Country Club dining room. Cremation has been accorded by Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. *Memorials may be made to feed the children locally at the FISH of Galesburg Food Pantry or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

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