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Dan Goheen

August 21, 1929 
-
March 7, 2000 


VM Recording
•  Obituary
Last email
Messages

Daniel John Goheen, 70 years old, passed away Tuesday, March 7, 2000.  He was born on August 21, 1929, in South Bend IN, to the late Clarence E. and Grace Ursula (Probst) Goheen.  A resident of Manassas for the past 9 years, he lived most of his life in Osceola, IN.  He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 33 years Virginia May “ Ginny” Fowler.

He and Ginnie founded and operated Dangi Floor & Wall Covering in Osceola in 1976.  In Manassas, he worked for Century 21 Champions and later Morningside Courier Service.  As a WWII and Korean Crisis veteran, he honorably served his country, receiving the Medal of Victory.

Survivors include three daughters, Pat Soltys of Manassas, Linda Nelund of South Bend, and Barbara Bieganski of Lancaster, PA; one son Daniel J Goheen, II of Osceola; nine grandchildren, Jennifer and Mark Soltys, II, Alexander, Cory and Jessica Nelund, Ben and Matt Bieganski, Logan and Alaynna Long-Goheen.  In addition to his biological grandchildren, Serena Salzer, Beth Clark and Mike Botello are considered grandchildren.  Five sisters and one brother also survive, Anita Greenwood of South Bend, IN, Ila Badke of Appleton Wisconsin, Aletha Garbacz of Michigan City, IN, Vera Laskowski of Mishawaka, IN, Theresa Mester of South Bend, IN and Edmund Goheen of Cocoa Beach, FL. 

He was laid to rest in Olive Cemetery, Wakarusa, IN, Saturday, March 11, 2000.  A memorial gathering for friends and relatives to celebrate his life and say “good bye” will be held Sunday, March 26, 2000 at the City Tavern (upstairs room), Manassas, VA from 3:00 P.M. through 7:00 P.M. 

A memorial scholarship fund has been set up in his name.  Contributions may be made to the Osbourn Park NJROTC Scholarship Fund at 8909 Euclid Ave., Manassas, VA  20110


Last eMail 
sent to all in Dan's Address Book

Subject: With Regret

It is with deep regret that I am writing to you for our family.  Dan Goheen passed away about 1:30 pm yesterday afternoon at Prince William Hospital. His death was sudden and unexpected.  We will know the cause later on today but it is expected to have been a blown heart valve or a blood clot.
 
He enjoyed life to the fullest extend and cared deeply for his friends, family and the many lives he touched.
 
As was his style, he was laughing, joking with the nurses while eating lunch and died instantly without pain.  The doctors were there when it happened and tried hard to bring him back. 
 
He enjoyed his friends greatly and really loved life through all of his relationships.  His status in life was great when measured by the love he gave.  There are many pictures including many of you, quite a number that include Dan as well.  In each of his pictures, that trademark smile radiates
warmth and a bit of mischief.
 
We celebrate his life and will miss him greatly.  Visitation will be at the Palmer Funeral Home in Osceola, IN  Saturday at noon followed by his funeral at 3:00 pm.  He will be buried next to his beloved wife Ginnie on the edge of the woods in Olive Cemetery.  A memorial service will also be held in Manassas, VA for his friends here in the next couple of weeks.   As the arrangements have not yet been completed, those interested are welcome to e-mail me for more information  You may also call his phone number and leave a message if it is not answered and I will return your call.
 
Thank you for being a part of his life.  If you are a part of this list, I know that you had a place in his heart.
 
This will probably be the last e-mail from this account as I will be closing the account soon after this post.
 
Pat Soltys for his family
Children - Pat, Linda, Barb, Dan II, Our spouses and his grandchildren
 
Messages

The messages sent by so many were most appreciated.  Here are a few excerpts that give insight to the way we will remember Dan Goheen.

 

...Please know how much Ellen and I care. Dan was a very special person and I'll always remember him in Virginia Beach running the young folk into the ground and dancing on a table, a beer in one hand and two women, one on either side of him. He was always smiling and I'm sure he is now.
 
Dan meant the world to me. I met him at my first PWP dance at Buckhall firehouse in 1993. I was standing talking to some guy and Dan, apparently afraid that this man might be "hitting on" a new face, walked up, put his arm around me and said something like "this is my wife you're talking to" and the guy walked away.
 
He and I went to lots of singles events together over the years, however it was most always bittersweet for him. The conversation always seemed to turn to a discussion of his wife Ginnie and how much he missed her. He can now, finally, be with her into eternity.
 
While I'll mourn our loss, I will always remember his smile, his wit, his kindness and....his mischief. What a wonderful man he was and how much we'll all miss him!

I know how close you were to your DAD and you must miss him, but as you know he is on the big dance floor in the sky, laughing and bringing them fun as he did here. 

I had just talked to him the other day, and he was supposed to be at the Westpark dance.  He was one of the sweetest people I have ever met.  I haven't known him that long, but thought he was the best. 

I am very sad that he's gone, yet happy, knowing that he lived a long and happy life. From what I could tell, he enjoyed every minute. I'm going to miss the "Old Tiger"

Your dad was a wonderful person and my mom and dad enjoyed a close fun friendship with them.  And of course I sort of grew up knowing your folks.  Will never forget the hog roasts.  I didn't see much of you kids, so never really got to know any of you.  My heart goes out to all of you.  No matter how old you are when you lose your parents, it is still a great void that no one else can fill. 

I am sooo  sorry.  Your Dad was a great guy who brought so much joy to other peoples lives.  He will be missed. 

My contact with him was nourishing and I can easily understand how he'll be missed.  Seeing the movie "Waking Ned Devine" brought Dan vividly to mind. Such a mixture of humor, mischief and that unique brand of Irish verve and bounce back describes him well.

I am so sorry for the loss of your father.  You are right when you said he enjoyed life and people.  He has enriched a lot of lives with his way of giving and sharing laughter and jokes.     

...although you do not know me, I want to write you and thank you for keeping me informed when your dad was so ill last year.  Your dad was a very good friend to me and a lot of other people, and it is odd for woman to have a male friend who is truly a friend.  He spoke to me of your mom and what a close relationship they had and of the many things they did together with the camping and scouting when you all were
young.  I know he truly missed your mom.  I kind of thought of him as a social director and matchmaker in our age group.  It was funny when he had the beeper and he'd get beeped to bring home bread, etc..  He was such a good guy, honest and just a great friend to have.  I will truly miss him and I know there are a lot of his friends that feel the same way.  He just wrote to me a few days ago to tell me about the diabetes and his cat scan.  I was looking forward to fixing him a sugar-free meal.  You have my sincere sympathy and I know you will miss him much more than  me.

Dear friends !
I'm really sorry to hear about Dan and his sudden death.  I still see him in front of me as always happy and glad and I remember all those times I got to meet him and Ginnie home in Osceola playing pool in the garage over a nice cold beer.  I'm also happy that I got to meet him again at my return to the US five years after my exchange student year. The trip we did just Dan and I from your home then to Ohio was also one of those moments I will never forget.  He was a very nice man and we will always feel his happiness around us whenever we think of him.  As I wrote to you when my Mother passed away will fit in now and I think its a nice thought.  "Don't Be Sad That Dan is Gone Be Happy That He Has Lived"  maybe my translation is bad but I think you understand the thoughts.

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