Lois Goettsche Meredith

Lois Goettsche Meredith, passed away Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at Mill Creek Village Assisted living. Visitation for Lois will be held Saturday, December 7th at 9:30 am at the Memorial Funeral home in Columbia, MO. The funeral service will follow at 12:00 PM.

Lois was born on October 9, 1936, in Davenport, Iowa, to Konrad Goettsche and Malinda Mangels Goettsche. When her mother passed away in 1938 and left her father with five children to raise, Lois lived with her aunt and uncle until her father remarried in 1941. She then moved back home with her family and started kindergarten.

In 1945, her family moved from the Davenport area to a farm in Davis County, Iowa. She and her siblings attended a one-room schoolhouse through the 8th grade and then went to high school in Moulton, Iowa. She graduated in 1954 as valedictorian of her class.

Following graduation from high school, Lois attended the American Institute of Business (AIB) in Des Moines where she received a Bachelor's Degree of Secretarial Science. While she was still a student, she was asked to fill in for her shorthand teacher who was moving away until they hired a replacement. She ended up teaching shorthand at AIB for 9 months before marrying Gene Meredith a former student. They were married on June 10, 1956, at the Methodist church in Grinnell, Iowa.

They lived in Grinnell, IA, area for 10 years where they were both employed at GTE’s Midwest Headquarters. In 1966, Gene was transferred to the GTE office in Columbia, MO, and Columbia became their permanent home.

Lois worked for the Columbia Public Schools for 10 years and then moved to MFA Incorporated-the home office of the largest farm cooperative in Missouri- and was employed there for 24 ½ years as Administrative Assistant to Sr. VP of Corporate Operations and was also Secretary-Treasurer of the MFA Foundation. She took great pride in her shorthand and secretarial skills. She retired on December 31, 2001. She was honored with these words: Enthusiastic about life, her family, and her job; hard-working, prompt, dependable, and loyal. A friend once said that Lois was fiercely loyal to the people she loved.

Gene and Lois had two children, and both are graduates of the University of Missouri.

Their daughter Joni was an elementary school teacher for 22 years and now is employed by a mechanical construction firm. Her husband Daniel is managing architect for the University of Missouri Healthcare system. They have three children; Katie, Nathan, and Kristin, and two grand-daughters. They live on Daniel’s family farm east of Columbia.

Their son Greg is employed at State Farm Insurance. His wife Angela is also an elementary school teacher and they live in Jefferson City. Greg and Angela have four children: Meghan, Malinda, Marshall Blake, and Morgan and two grandchildren.

Gene and Lois celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary on June 10, 2013.

Gene passed away on August 29, 2013.

Lois was preceded in death by her parents, stepmother, her brother Charles Goettsche, her sister Caroline Archer, her Brother Roy Goettsche, and her husband Gene.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Central Missouri Food Bank.