Eleanor Louise Gooch

Eleanor Louise (Stone) Gooch, age 91, a longtime resident of Gardner, KS and a dedicated Child of God, passed peacefully at the Hospice House of Olathe Medical Center on Friday evening, December 16, 2016. She was the loving wife of John B. Gooch, who departed this life in 1992.

Eleanor was born in Cape Girardeau, MO, as the second child of six children born to Walter and Myrtle Stone, later of St. Louis, MO.

She would want you to know that she is grateful that God has called her home and that her work for Him on the earth is finished. You may very well have been one of the people that she asked, "Do you know Jesus?". If you were, please know that she is now spending the rest of eternity surrounded by God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Angels, Beauty, Glory and Unending Love! However, she would still want to make sure that you know Jesus and would want you to join her eventually.

She leaves behind her four children and their spouses, Carolyn and Rick Holland of Olathe, KS, Judi and Keith Burns of Collierville, TN, David and Shirley Gooch of Olathe, KS and Sheryl and Mark McCumber of Overland Park, KS. Further, she leaves eleven "I-love-them-all" grandchildren and fifteen "I-just-love-babies" great-grandchildren. There is not a person among them who were not blessed to know and love this lovely woman.

This family, and her role as mother and grandmother was the most important thing to her. This is where she drew her strength and left her legacy. Many people in this life have had it much easier than she did growing up. She always managed to keep her priorities straight and to instill in her family their love for God, country and family. This is a wonderful example for everyone to follow.

She loved her family "to the moon and back" and even more so when they would sit on her screened-in porch with her and watch her hummingbirds frolic and fight. She used to sit on her porch and say "Who wouldn't want to be here?" and mean it with all her heart. She loved the beautiful flowers, and even though she was unable to plant her flower garden the last few years of her life, she made sure that her family knew that they were expected to provide and plant flowers as her Mother's Day gifts.

Though she is gone, she left a legacy of love and perseverance. The way she touched the lives of her family, friends and even strangers will forever remain. For those of you who knew her, please keep those memories alive by smiling and asking a stranger "Do you know Jesus?" when you think of her.

Visitation, Friday, December 23 at 10:00am at First Baptist Church of Olathe, 2024 E 151st. St., Olathe, KS followed by funeral service at 11:00am, also at the church. Committal service, Friday, December 23, 2016 at 2:30pm at Leavenworth National Cemetery.

The family extends their heartfelt appreciation for the exceptional care our mother received at the Hospice House, and because of our mother's love for children, we would request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be given to the following charities in her memory:
Hospice House of Olathe Medical Center, 15310 South Marion St., Olathe, KS 66061
or to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105