Gloria Jane Schladoer Goff, beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, community volunteer, and friend, was born in Comfort, Texas, on the Fourth of July in 1936 to Henry Schladoer and Minnie Pfeiffer. She passed away in Victoria, Texas on May 14, 2022, surrounded by her family and loved ones.
Gloria is survived by her daughters, Holly Jene Goff Marcks (Jeff) and Laurel Rene Goff Loehlin (James); grandson, William Arren Broussard; brother-in-law, Kenneth Goff (Jan); sister-in-law, Betty Schladoer; and many loving nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Elbert Wayne Goff, M.D.; her parents; her sister, Hedwig Lena Flach (Elvin); brothers, Paul Henry Schladoer (Florence), Eugene Chester Schladoer and Edgar Louis Schladoer (Carla). She was the youngest of five children, and bit of a surprise to her parents. She would continue to surprise and delight everyone she met for the rest of her life. She will be profoundly missed.
Gloria met her husband, Wayne, on a blind date while attending the University of Texas in Austin. They married, and moved to Galveston, Texas, where Wayne completed medical school at UTMB. They moved to Seattle, WA and Lexington, KY for medical residencies, and came back to Galveston with daughter Holly, and daughter Laurel soon to follow. She often joked that if she had had a third daughter, she would have had to name her Agarita; another bush. They moved to Austin in 1965, where they remained until Holly and Laurel went to college. They then moved to Victoria, where they remained for the duration.
Gloria always had a sparkle in her eye and smile on her lips. She rarely met a person who didn't become a friend. She was the drum majorette in high school, as well as a member of the women's basketball and volleyball teams. She was a terrific dancer and loved the Big Bands and crooners of the American Songbook. She loved the beauty of rocks and minerals, and was a life-long collector of specimens, a trait she inherited from her father. She had a great analytical and mathematical mind and would have made an excellent CPA or code-breaker, but went into Motherhood instead. She was a voracious reader and had a superb green-thumb, both passions she passed on to her daughters. She enthusiastically supported her daughters and grandson in everything they did. She volunteered and got involved with anything she believed in, especially libraries, and most especially, the Victoria Public Library.
The family would like to recognize the invaluable care provided to both Gloria and Wayne in their latter years by a devoted group of caregivers, including Lola Menchaca, Marcia Madrigal, Flora Rucker, Diana Firova, Sandra Kay Jones, Misty Menchaca and Melissa Menchaca, as well as their husbands, children and grandchildren. We can never thank them enough for their thoughtfulness and dedication to Dr. G and GG.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 24th from 5 to 7pm at the Colonial Funeral Home, 1801 E. Red River in Victoria, Texas. The funeral will be held on Wednesday, May 25th at 2pm at the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 318 High Street in Comfort, Texas with burial to follow at the Comfort Cemetery. The memorial service will be live-streamed on Facebook and recorded.
Both the live service and the recording will be accessible at this address: https://fb.me/e/1KvcZgD0k
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hospice of South Texas or a charity of your choice. Flowers are lovely, but the deer at the Comfort Cemetery will eat them immediately.
