Holland’s Mrs. Goodhall.
This is a reminder that the burial with military honors for John Goodhall who passed away February 18th at the age of 84 will be at the Holland Cemetery, Holland, Massachusetts on the June 12th. It is at 1:00 PM and then there will be a gathering with refreshments at the Senior Center immediately following the service.Corinne Goodhall, his wife of 62 years, along with Ruth his daughter and his son Jack will be in attendance at the service as well as friends and relatives to pay their respect to a man who was a Veteran and Sergant of World War II and was decorated with the purple heart for his injuries prior to the Battle of the Bulge.
Anyone who grew up in the 50’s and 60’s in Holland remember Mrs. Goodhall, John’s wife, (my mother would be upset if I didn’t address her properly), as the second and 3rd grade teacher at the Holland Elementary School for many years..
Mrs. Goodhall graduated from Willimantic State Teachers College in 1947 and John & Corinne married that December 6th. She started teaching in Holland in 1961 and had been teaching in CT prior to that. She retired in 1980 when she and John moved to Breezy Knoll in West Dennis to run their cottage business.
Mrs. Goodhall was an exceptional teacher and put her students first. I use to help my dad after school was out cleaning the rooms and Mrs. Goodhall was one of the few teachers who was always there into dinner time correcting papers, and planning her lessons for the next day for her students. When you walked into her classroom you could see an immediate difference from most of the rooms, hers was full of projects and activities her students were involved in. If there was a holiday it was evident by all the decorations her students made for the classroom. Times were different then. Mrs. Goodhall wasn’t just a teacher to the kids who went through her class but a second parent to Holland’s children as well. She looked after us whether we were in school or not.
Her daughter Ruth told me the other day that between her mom teaching in Holland and her dad having the bus business that transported all the kids to school it was difficult for us to get into trouble. As Ruth said all the town’s folks looked out for the kids back then, but the difference with Mrs. Goodhall was that she knew each and everyone of us by name and took a personal interest in our well being. It was second nature to her.
We can never repay Mrs. Goodhall for the countless hours she put into her teaching and I hope the people of Holland who know and love her will attend the memorial service for her beloved husband John on Saturday, and will also take this rare opportunity to attend to pay their respects and honor this woman who helped mold a generation of Holland’s children. None of us will ever forget Holland’s Mrs. Goodhall.
Gerry Germaine
Hisgen House Bed & Breakfast
78 Hisgen Road
Holland, MA 01521
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