Doris Goff

Doris “Jeanne” Goff (Jeanne) passed away on October 2, 2014, from complications of COPD. At the time of her death she was living in The Sunshine Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Durango, Colorado. She was born June 22, 1922 in Hill City, Kansas. Before moving to Durango in 1954, Jeanne lived in Los Alamos, New Mexico for six years where her husband Karle Goff worked for the Secret Service during the cold war with Russia. At that time Los Alamos was a closed city; no one could enter or leave without proper paperwork. Prior to that she lived in McCleary, Washington where she met and married her husband in 1941. As a teenager, while her family was still in Kansas, Jeanne experienced firsthand the effects of the Dust Bowl. Her family packed up what they could in a car and left their farm in Kansas to move to McCleary in the 1930’s. Jeanne had vivid memories of the dust rolling in and consuming everything in those years before they moved. Jeanne graduated from high school in McCleary and went to Beauty College to obtain her license as a hairdresser. After moving to Durango, she and Karle along with other investors and family members purchased the Bessie G gold Mine in the La Plata’s but to keep food on the table she opened her own shop called “Jeanne’s Beauty Shop” which she ran for several years on north main. After selling her shop, she and Karle eventually retired in Mesa, Arizona where she lived until moving back to Durango in 2012 to be close to her daughter. Jeanne is survived by her daughter Karla Clark of Durango; granddaughter Wendy Aber of Durango, grandson Scott Aber of Scottsdale, AZ and four great grandsons Cody Aber, Jarod Aber, Sam Aber, and Rocco Estes. She was predeceased by her husband Karle, two sons Danny and David Goff, father Fred Karst; mother Grace Karst; and two sisters Gwen Worland and Betty Briseldon.
Jeanne was a talented artist, especially gifted at scenery paintings; she worked crossword puzzles and even used an IPAD to email friends and family up until the last few months of her life. Her family remembers her as a pioneer who lived through the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, WWII, and Korean War. She owned her own business when most women were not in the workforce. She kept up with current events and was still sharp and fun to be with right up to the day she died. She loved games and could still beat everyone at Scrabble at Christmas 2013.
At her request, no services will be held. The family is planning a private memorial later in the year.