Goshen

Mary Skinner Goodhouse, beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died on November 6, 2014, surrounded by loving family. She was in her 92nd year. Born to Michael Richard Skinner and Anna Cull, Mary grew up on McKinley Street in Torrington. The Skinners struggled through the Great Depression, but held on, and these years made them unwavering Roosevelt Democrats. Mary attended St. Francis School, graduating from Torrington High School in 1941. In 1939, Mary lost her only brother, David, age 15, in a bicycle accident. Shortly after graduating from Torrington High, tragically her mother Anna passed away after a long illness. The war interrupted Mary’s secretarial course and she began her first job at the Torrington Company.
There she met Marian Goodhouse who took her home to meet her brother Joseph, a Litchfield farmer. Even though he was a republican, they married on September 1, 1945, and Joe commuted daily from the Skinner house in Torrington to the Litchfield farm until 1946 when they built their first home on Goodhouse Road in Litchfield. In 1951, with Grandpa Skinner’s help, Joe and Mary purchased the dairy farm in Goshen and settled in, with Grandpa Skinner in residence to help with childcare and to grow potatoes to feed Joe and Mary’s growing family. Mary’s first off the farm job was as the Goshen Librarian. In 1963, Mary received a telegram from Senator Tom Dodd appointing her Postmistress at the West Goshen Post Office. She next worked until her retirement in 1988 at the First National Bank of Litchfield where she was an officer in charge of a very robust student loan program. Before and after retirement, Mary was active in church and civic matters, serving on the Goshen School Board, and being a founding member of the St. Thomas Chapel Committee. She enjoyed volunteering, and was generous with her time and money in support of the causes that she believed in.
Mary was an avid reader, concentrating on biographies and histories. She was a traveler, journeying home to the old country to visit the relatives in Mayo and Leitrim. She traveled west as far as San Francisco, east as far as Delphi, and south as far as Abu Simbel on River Nile. She enjoyed presiding over family celebrations, watching election returns, and celebrating life events with Irish Whiskey and Champagne.
Mary was predeceased by and is now happily re-united with her husband, Joseph Goodhouse. She is survived by her children Paul Goodhouse of Huntington, Vermont; Francis Goodhouse and his wife Maureen Markham Goodhouse of Goshen; Edward Goodhouse and his wife Kathryn Franculli Goodhouse of Goshen; Barbara Goodhouse and her husband Jeffrey Curran of Southbury; Joseph Goodhouse of Hopewell, New Jersey; Mary Goodhouse and her husband Joseph Dippel of East Granby; and Vincent Goodhouse and his wife Julia Dunn Goodhouse of Chicago; her grandchildren Megan Goodhouse Cardinal and her husband Michael Cardinal; Brendan Goodhouse and his wife Quynh Pham Goodhouse; Karla Goodhouse and her husband Kenneth Howes; Caleb Goodhouse; Elizabeth Curran; Joseph Dippel; Paul Dippel and Seve Goodhouse; and her great-granddaughters Lily, Grace and Summer Cardinal and Olivia Goodhouse.
The family wishes to extend its gratitude to the entire staff at Valerie Manor for their kind and thoughtful care to our mother.
Friends and family may call on Sunday, November 9, 2014 from 4-6pm at Rowe Funeral Home, 283 Torrington Road, Litchfield. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, November 10, 2014 at 10:00am at St. Thomas of Villanova Church, 71 North Street, Goshen, CT. Burial will follow in St. Thomas Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Thomas Church, 71 North Street, Goshen, CT 06756 or FISH/Friends in service to Humanity of Northwestern Connecticut, Inc., 332 South Main Street, Torrington, CT 06790.
Kindly visit www.rowefuneralhome.net to send the family an online condolence.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary S. Goodhouse, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.