Obituary of Ronald C. Goss

In Loving Memory of Ronald C. Goss Service: September 6, 2014, 2:00pm Auburn Church of the Nazarene 1225 29th Street SE Auburn, Wa 98002 Burial: (Limited to close family and friends) September 6, 2014, 12:00pm 18787 W. Lake Desire Drive SE Renton, Wa 98058 425-793-0509 Donations in honor of Ronald Goss to World Vision Ronald left this world on August 26, 2014 at 8:10am. He left with his brain fully intact and his body worn out. Our father, husband, stepfather, grandfather, brother-in-law and friend put up a hell of a fight to the end. Ron died holding his daughter Susan’s hand. Those that knew Dad, knew he had an addiction to alcohol. It was a demon he fought for most of his life. He tried several times to give up his evil friend and his last time was in late July. He sent a note to his family and friends that he was ready to do it again. We love the fact that till the end, Dad was trying to kick the habit. Now all the sad parts are done, let’s talk about all the good times and memories. Dad was born on a farm in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to Helen and Leroy on July 28, 1935. He was raised doing farm chores and taking care of the animals. He loved his cousins, uncles, aunts and school friends. To the time he died he remembered the names of all his high school classmates, their birthdays and their families. Dad had total recall of these types of facts. Dad graduated from Juniata Valley High School in 1953. Under his graduation picture it indicates he wanted to be an Electrical Engineer (which he did do), His prized possession was a 35 Remington (he loved guns) and his abilities were in Physicist and Science. Dad met his wife Carole Dewey while in school. Mom and Dad were very clear they were just friends in High School and never dated till after they left school. Dad married mom in 1957. Dad went into the Naval Reserves and served time as an instructor. He moved to Ohio to work at Packard Electric Division, General Motors Corporation, in Warren as a draftsman. He went to school at Youngstown University where he obtained his electrical engineering degree while working full time, raising 4 small children and being in the reserves. We will always admire Dad for the dedication it must have taken to do all of this at the same time. Dad got a job offer for Boeing and moved to Renton in 1965. Dad worked in both the commercial and defense side of the business. He worked on all commercial models except the 787. He worked on the military programs like B-2, F-22, AWACS and other programs he could not name. He traveled a lot for work and saw the world. He spent time in England, Moses Lake, Wa, Toronto, Canada and Palmdale, Ca. He especially enjoyed the heat, dryness, Joshua trees and ravens in Palmdale. Dad retired in the late 90’s as an engineering manager. Dad had 4 children. Caron, Stephen, Susan and Kevin. Listed in order of birth. Dad told mom that since he had a very short last name that all the children must have 2 syllable first names. He also liked consistency so they all have the same middle name (Lee). Shortly after Caron was born she stopped breathing due to mucus in her lungs and nose. The result of this was brain damage that left Caron at a mental of age of 8 years old. Caron lives in Federal Way in a wonderful home. Her sister is her guardian. Caron was named for both my mom and dad (Car for Carole and ron for Ron). Steve works for a large restaurant chain and is in charge of the building and maintenance of all the restaurants. He is married to Janet. Steve gave Dad 2 grandchildren, Mitchell and Daniell. Mitch was Dad’s first grandchild and he died at age 3 due to a surgery gone horribly wrong. Dad was heartbroken. Daniell has one daughter Hannah, making Dad a great grandfather. Susan graduated from the University Of Washington and is a Human Resources executive at the Boeing Company. Susan has no children but a great collection of dogs and cats. Dad took joint custody of Susan’s dog Riley. He would babysit Riley during the day while Susan was working. Riley loved and adored Dad. Kevin owned his own business and then decided to spend his life serving and protecting the citizens of Buckley and Gig Harbor as a police officer. Kevin is married to Teresa who is a Postmaster in Fox Island, Wa. They gave Dad 3 wonderful grandchildren, Jared, Jesse and Jordon (all in birth order). Jared graduated from the Airforce Academy in 2010 and is currently in the Airforce as a Captain for Security Forces. Jesse graduated from the University of Washington in 2012 and is on active duty in the Coast Guard. Following in his father’s footsteps, Jordon is a police officer in Dupont, Washington. Teresa Wilcox lived in Renton by the Goss clan and soon became the 3rd daughter of the family. Dad teased her relentlessly and loved her dearly. Mom died in 2004 from a brain aneurism. He loved and admired her so much and was heartbroken from the loss. In 2005, Dad met his next love Alvina Harrington. Alvina is a friend of the family and soon became Dads wife. Alvina has 4 children from a previous marriage. Vicki, Shelley, Kim and Dean (in birth order). Dean and Shelley proceeded Dad in death. He loved and cared immensely for all his step-children. Dad became very close to Alvina’s sisters and brothers and their spouses. He was loved and admired by Alvina’s family. The family celebrated his 79th birthday on July 27th. Everyone was together and this will be some great lasting memories for his family and friends. Dad took to the internet like he created it. He found the most amazing items and ensured he shared them with his family and friends. Every day a new joke, picture or crazy article would come in. Dad was extremely generous and ensured that he helped anyone that needed it. Examples of this generosity included giving to charities such as World Vision, giving to the church, offering a handout to the homeless, assisting students with additional money to go to college. Dad was extremely smart and could be wickedly sarcastic. He could always be counted on for a quick joke, a silly insult or a wisecrack. He would ensure that he talked to his children every day or at least once a week. He was the guy you called when you wanted to know a fact, figure out why something wasn’t working or gain insight on local or international news. Dad loved Fox News. Dad was a loving and caring man, and he will be greatly missed by all those that knew and loved him. He is in a better place. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED: Please add all the great memories you have of Ron. If we left out relevant details of his life, please add those items as well. We will use all these great memories at the service on September 6.