Obituary of Dorothea Goodrich

Dorothea Dell "Dede" Goodrich, passed away at age 93 following a short illness. She spent her final days in her Santa Cruz home, surrounded by her loving family and friends. Dede was born in Kress, Texas, the daughter of Roger and Mertye Scheihagen. Following her graduation from Amarillo High School, Dede attended Amarillo College and received a Bachelor's Degree from Texas Tech in 1942. Dede married her high school sweetheart, Raymond H. Goodrich, on January 9, 1943, and accompanied him to several duty posts during WW II. Following the war and Raymond's graduation from Stanford Law School, Dede and her family settled in Santa Cruz. While raising her own five children, Dede served as a den mother, girl scout leader, and mentor for dozens of other young people in Santa Cruz. In 1966-1967, Ray and Dede hosted an honorary son, Juerg Ambuhl, their AFS exchange student from Switzerland. Dede was active in Santa Cruz community organizations for over 60 years. She served in leadership roles in Omega Nu, PEO and AFS, and was an elder of First Presbyterian Church of Santa Cruz. After her youngest child went off to college, Dede started a successful 20-year career as a real estate agent with Kendall and Potter (later Coldwell Banker) in Aptos. Dede had a zest for life, always enthusiastically engaged in new pursuits like learning computing in her late '70s. She loved music and cooking - famous for her peanut brittle - and traveling the world. She was a voracious reader and active member of her book clubs. Dede became a licensed private pilot, serving as a co-pilot to Raymond on countless plane trips with family, visiting friends, participating in retriever field trials, and vacationing in Mexico and the U.S. In addition to her husband, Dede is survived by her five children: James (Cynthia) Goodrich, Pamela (Brian) Cooke, David (Brian) Goodrich, Paul (Jean) Goodrich, Janie (EY) Snowden; her AFS son Juerg (Gioia) Ambuhl; grandchildren: Lisa (Chris) Swehla, Jessica (Ryan) Gould, Ramana (Mischa) Gasch, Kathlin (John) Gabaldon, Jake (Kelsey) Goodrich, Mallory Snowden, Elizabeth Goodrich, Sophie Snowden, Petra Goodrich, and AFS granddaughter Flurina Ambuhl; and great-grandsons: Micah and Elliot Gabaldon. Funeral services will be held at Oakwood Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz, at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 11, 2014. A celebration of her life will be scheduled later this year. Anyone wishing to make a donation in memory of Dede can do so for the benefit of: The Omega Nu Endowment (Scholarship) Fund, P.O. Box 1696, Santa Cruz, CA 95061; Hospice of Santa Cruz County, 940 Disc Dr., Scotts Valley, CA 95066; or their favorite charity.