Alvin Goering

Al Goering Alvin Al Goering of Neodesha, KS, died Wednesday, March 14, 2007, at the Wilson County Hospital in Neodesha. He was 91. At the familys request, cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 17, 2007, at the First Christian Church in Neodesha under the direction of Penwell-Gabel Loran Fawcett Chapel. The Reverends Robert Agee and Jim Bell will officiate. A private family inurnment will take place at a later date. Friends may call to register Friday, March 16, 2007. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. The son of Joe D.C. and Mathilda Zerger Goering, he was born November 8, 1915, in Elyria, Kansas. He graduated from McPherson High School in 1933 and McPherson College in 1937. On August 17, 1937, he was united in marriage to Ada Mae Goering at the Eden Mennonite Church near Moundridge, KS. She survives at the home. Mr. Goering taught school at Rocky Ford, CO, for five years before locating in Neodesha in 1942. He taught industrial arts and mathematics at Neodesha High School for more than 20 years. He also taught aeronautics courses in Independence, KS. Al was a leader for the Boy Scouts for over 65 years. In addition to being a scout leader in Neodesha, he also attended numerous World Jamborees, accompanied scout trips to Philmont Ranch, inspected Boy Scout camps and served on innumerable Eagle Boards of Review. He received both the Silver Beaver and the prestigious Silver Antelope awards, the latter being the highest award given by the organization on the regional level. Al had been a member of the Neodesha Lions Club since 1948, serving as president, secretary and district governor. He was awarded the Claude Devorss Fellowship Award for Humanitarian Services, awarded by the Kansas Lions Sight Foundation and was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Lions in 2004. He also performed extensive volunteer work for the Hopi Indian Mission in Arizona. He also served in many capacities in the community. He served as elder of the First Christian Church, a city commissioner, a member of the Kansas State Water Board since 1978 and chairman of the Verdigris Basin Advisory Committee since 1989. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, Keith and wife Mary Ann of Iola, KS, Kent and wife June of Alexandria, VA, and Kevin and wife Corinne of New York, NY; one daughter, Jan Goering of rural Independence, KS; two sisters, Hilda Stucky of Minnesota, and Marie Wedel of Moundridge, KS; two grandchildren, Kris Goering Campos of Topeka, KS, and Camille Goering of New York, NY; and two great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by two daughters, Jodie, a former vocal music teacher in Independence, KS, and Jeanne, who died in infancy; three brothers, Milton, Raymond and Joe; and two sisters, Edna and Frieda. Memorial contributions may be made to either the Boy Scouts of America or the Kansas Lions Sight Foundation and may be left at the funeral home. To leave a special message for the family, please visit www.PenwellGabel.com.