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Essie Lorene Wilcox Gooding passed away Wednesday morning, Feb. 11, 2009 at the age of 89 years.
The daughter of the late Claude A. "Tex" Wilcox and Ida Smith Wilcox, Essie was born on February 28, 1919 in rural Cushing, Payne County, Oklahoma.
She was raised and schooled in the Cushing schools, graduating in 1936. She returned for a post graduate course in bookkeeping and took a special course in business law, from O.S.U.
She married Glenn B. Gooding on January 19, 1937 and to this union two sons, Dale Leon and Doyle Glenn, were born.
She owned and operated the LoRaine Beauty Shop for four years and had worked in the Gooding Dental Laboratory for 17 years. Then she worked for the North American Drilling Co. and Superior Well Service Co. before going to work for Arkansas Louisiana Gas Company, now Center Point Energy. She retired from Arkla in 1984 after being there for 21 years. She then worked part time at Carter Janitorial taking S.W. Bell telephone payments until 1989.
Besides her work, she served as a Cub Scout Mother for the Cub Scout groups.
She was a life member of the Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority, serving the local chapter, Delta Iota, by chairing different committees and serving through all offices of the chapter. In 1957, she was voted by the State sorority as the Most Outstanding girl in Oklahoma. She was voted as runner up for Most Outstanding girl at the International Sorority Convention held in Denver, Colorado. She then became active in the State by serving as Chairman of the different committees and began the state offices by serving as North East Coordinator and continued being elected to State offices, including state treasurer, secretary, parliamentarian, chaplin and state president in 1962-63.
Essie loved working in her church the most. She served on different committees, sang in the church choir for 20 years, she was a deaconess and had served as secretary of the church board for 2 ˝ years, resigning because of illness in her home.
She and Glenn loved to travel and enjoyed several cruises, visiting the U.S. owned island and close countries.
She is survived by 2 sons, Dale and Phyllis Gooding of Cushing and Doyle and Janie Gooding of St. Charles, MO; three grandchildren, Michael Gooding and his wife Cindy of Oklahoma City, Kristi Costa and her husband Mike of O’Fallon, MO and Kelly Gooding of Atlanta, GA; four great-grandchildren, Amber Watts and her husband Josh of Moore, Shae Gooding of Oklahoma City, Katie Costa and Kayla Costa both of O’Fallon, MO; one great-great-grandson, Ashur Watts of Moore and other relatives and friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Essie was preceded in death by two sisters, Opal Fillmore and Leona Morgan and one infant brother.
Services will be held on Monday, February 16, 2009 at 2 P.M. in the First Christian Church, where she was baptized in November 1929 at the age of eleven years. Dr. Larry Haney will be officiating.
Burial will follow in the Fairlawn Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Christian Church, 300 E. Moses, Cushing OK 74023 in her honor.