Phoebe Goven

Phoebe Goven loved to experience and appreciate the world around her. She did many things in her life, all of which shaped her into the person her family and friends loved dearly. 1926 was a fantastic period in our nations history, when the sounds of progress could be heard in every city across America. It was the birthplace of jazz, the golden age of industry and above all, a time of plenty. Amidst these exciting times, Kenneth and Gladys (Hall) Walz of Battle Creek, Michigan were overjoyed with the birth of their beautiful daughter, Phoebe Lenora, on November 24, 1926. Phoebe was the youngest of three children and grew up under the watchful eye of her older brother, Kenneth, and sister, Margaret. Phoebes father earned a living as an electrical engineer for Consumers Power, while her mother worked as a switchboard operator as well as care for their family. Because of her fathers profession, the family moved around quite a bit throughout Phoebes childhood. Like her father, Phoebe was very smart and always excelled in her studies; so much so, she even skipped a grade. But smarts werent the only family traits; Phoebes father and brother were both very humorous, which brightened many days and rubbed off on many. After high school, Phoebe went on to attend Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where she earned her Undergraduate and Masters degree in speech and occupational therapy. It was during her summer studies one year that Phoebe met Donald Goven on campus and they became friends. Phoebe had mentioned to Don that she just accepted a position as a Speech Pathologist in the Muskegon Public Schools, which coincidentally was where Don was from. In fact, he had also accepted a teaching position in the area. Although they went their separate ways after school, the two continued to meet up at faculty meetings, giving them a chance to reconnect. But Don knew in his heart the minute he met Phoebe that she was the one for him. She was beautiful, intelligent and had a wonderful sense of humor and he decided he wasnt going to waste any more time without her in his life. On June 6, 1956, Don and Phoebe announced their engagement, and were happily married the next month on July 28th, in Jackson, Michigan. After saying I do, the newlyweds headed off on a trip through the Upper Peninsula and then over to Wisconsin. At the time, Don had been reading about the famous bank robber, John Dillinger, who buried his loot behind a nightclub in Wisconsin and it was never found. Out of curiosity, the two went to that nightclub and dug around, like many others had, to see if they could find the cash. This adventure led to many others just like it, and became one of their favorite pastimes. The couple was both adventure loving people who actively sought fun and adventure at every turn. Unfortunately, Phoebe suffered at a young age with rheumatoid arthritis, which affected her knees first and slowed down her physical activities. Nonetheless, she never let it get her down and she and Don still loved to go skiing, take walks and be active. After marrying, Don and Phoebe settled into their first home together, and began working on a family of their own. They were first blessed with a daughter they named Nora Lee, which was a play on Phoebes middle name Lenora only backwards. Their second child was a son, Donald, who was named after his father and grandfather. After the children arrived, Phoebe stayed home to raise them. After some time, she started a private practice in their basement, which Don helped her fix up, and Phoebe could continue doing occupational and speech therapy with her students. During this time, Phoebe authored a book about stuttering therapy and taught out of her home. At times, her son Don knew of no other way to get his mothers attention when she was engrossed in work but to throw things down the basement stairs. By the early 70s, Phoebe had returned to work at the Ottawa Area Center as a speech and occupational therapist. She co-authored her second book while teaching at the center. She was also active as a member of PEO, Chapter CS; American Association of University Women; Friends of Art and the Choice Action Network. Phoebe retired from her position with the schools in 1986, after over 36 years of devotion to her profession. It was said that Phoebe was a pioneer for women in her profession and ahead of her time. As educators, Don and Phoebe often planned many of their family vacations around educational landmarks and such. This included trips to Washington, D.C., California, New York, where they met Jack Cassidy; and Florida, among others. It wasnt unusual for the family to travel out of town for Christmas as well. There was one Christmas trip to Florida that the family insists they will never forget. It seems Santa brought little Don a talking GI Joe figure that year and all the way home they had to listen to it say Man your battle stations. Don was lucky that toy made it home in one piece. When it came to her leisure time, Phoebe enjoyed being outdoors, gardening, watching the birds or taking care of their family pets, which included cats, dogs and even horses. She stayed active with aqua aerobics, enjoyed classical music and kept her mind sharp by doing word games and writing poetry and puns, for which she became known as the Pun Queen. Her greatest pastime, however, was being a devoted grandmother to her five grandchildren, whom she adored. When her grandchild Jonah was born, Phoebe went and stayed with her daughter Nora for five weeks to help out. But Phoebe was always close with her children; she cherished them with all her heart, caring for them in times of need and celebrating with them in times of joy. Phoebe was a woman rich in the things that count in life: a strong work ethic, a constant support to those in need, and above all, an unconditional love for her children, grandchildren and family. Blessed with a wonderful sense of humor, Phoebe brought smiles and happiness to everyone whose lives she touched. She will be deeply missed. Phoebe Lenora Goven, age 80, died on Thursday, October 25, 2007. She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Donald Goven; son, Donald (Karyn) Goven of Ypsilanti; daughter, Nora (Will) Buck of CA; 5 grandchildren: Jonah, Natasha, Chareen, Samantha and Austin; and several nieces & nephews. She was preceded in death by her sister, Margaret Tinkham, and by her brother, Kenneth Walz. Funeral services for Phoebe will be on Monday, October 29, at 3:00 p.m. at Clock Chapel of Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. A time of visitation is set aside on Monday, one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Planned Parenthood. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory with Phoebes family or sign her online guest book.