Remembering Departed Members of Anna-Jonesboro High School, Class of 1926

Mary 'Helen' Boyd Goddard 1907 2005, A-J 1926 Class, Information furnished by A-J Classmate and Friends.

Mary 'Helen' Boyd Goddard, 97, of Anna, passed away at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005, in Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born Dec. 30, 1907, on the family farm west of Jonesboro. She was the last surviving child of John Jasper 'J.J.' Sr. and Mary Naomi (Gillespie) Boyd. On Sept. 23, 1927, she married her high school sweetheart, Byrl Alton Goddard. He passed away March 31, 1988. Helen graduated from Anna-Jonesboro Community High School with the Class of 1926. Helen's devotion to A-J and her classmates was carefully documented and preserved in her 'graduation journal. It contains mementos such as play programs, ticket stubs from sporting events, party favors, early photos of Bar-San Hall, pictures of a young Ella Jane Pickle Sanders, along with a stick of gum from the 1920s, given to her by a 'friend,' Byrl Goddard. For a number of years, while living in Jonesboro, Helen was employed at the International Shoe Company, Anna. In the mid-1950s Helen and Byrl moved to Carbondale and became 'host parents' to numerous young men who made their home with them while attending Southern Illinois University. Upon retirement, they returned to Anna. While living in Carbondale, Helen was active in the Carbondale Garden Club and First Baptist Church. When she and Byrl moved back to Anna, Helen became a faithful member of Anna Heights Baptist Church until ill health prevented her from attending. Helen was also active in the Union County Homemakers' Extension. For the past five years, she resided at Union County Nursing Home in Anna. Helen's passion for beauty and color was apparent from the many wonderful handmade quilts she so lovingly stitched as gifts for her family. Other hobbies and interests she enjoyed were reading, needle point, spending time in her flower gardens, cooking, canning fruits and vegetables and as long as her health permitted, she especially liked to visit with family and friends. Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and the following brothers and sisters, Arlie Van Boyd (died in infancy), Edith Boyd Davis Gordon, Claud J. Boyd, Orin D. Boyd, Emma Boyd Schultz and John J. Boyd Jr. and a nephew, John J. Schultz. 'Aunt' Helen is survived by the following nieces and nephews, Robert E. (Gene) Boyd of Anna, Anita Boyd Ord of Camp Hill, Pa., Joe E. Boyd of Cobden, Boyd L. Davis of Sun City West, Ariz.,Jane Schultz Amos of Fairfax, Va., Harold D. Boyd of Mount Vernon, Martha Boyd Casper of Las Vegas, Bill R. Boyd of Cobden, Emily Boyd Meyer of Cobden; special niece and caregiver, Linda Boyd LaFoon of Anna and dear friend, Lazelle Snell of Anna. Services for Mrs. Helen B. Goddard will be at 11 a.m. Friday, August 5, 2005, in Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna, with the Rev. Al Campbell, of United Methodist Church in Anna officiating. Interment will be in Anna City Cemetery. Friends may call after 10 at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 5, 2005.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Helen B. Goddard may be to the Nursing Home Landscape Project, c/o Union County Hospital Auxiliary, 517 N. Main St. Anna, IL 62906 or to a charity of the donor's choice. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of the arrangements.

Frances Jane Clark Brown 1909 2006, A-J 1926 Class, Teacher-Historian, Information furnished by A-J Classmate and Friends.

Frances Jane Clark was born in 1909 in Oklahama, the daughter of Clinton O Clark and Ora Clark. In 1919, Jane and her brother, Clinton O Clark Jr., moved with their parents moved to Anna, Illinois.
Jane graduated from Anna-Jonesboro Community High School with the Class of 1926.

Obituary
Frances Jane Brown 96, of Anna died Sunday, June 11, 2006, at Union County Hospital. She was born Oct. 10, 1909, in Lawton, Okla., daughter of Clinton Oliver and Ora Anderson Clark. She and Robert West Brown were married in 1929. He died in 1992. Brown was a graduate of the University of Illinois. She taught high school in Alto Pass, Shawnee School District at Wolf Lake, and Anna-Jonesboro High School, where she taught English and Latin until retiring in 1976. She was a founding member of Union County Historical and Genealogical Society, and was president at the time of her death. She was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian church and taught Sunday school many years. She was formerly active in the church's Women's Association, and Illinois Retired Teachers Association. Survivors include two daughters, Marianna Riley and Beverly Anderson of St. Louis; three granddaughters; and five great-grandsons.Friends may call at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna from 5 to 7 p.m. today. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Anna.
Published: The Gazette-Democrat
Area historian, teacher Jane Brown dies at age 96 BY CALEB HALE, THE SOUTHERN
Those who met Frances Jane Clark Brown in life quickly discovered they had met a walking repository of local history. "She just had all this knowledge in her head, and she was so eager to share it. When people asked her questions, I could tell by the look on their faces, once she started in, they had found a treasure trove," said Brown's daughter, Marianna Riley of St. Louis. Brown, a former Latin teacher at Anna-Jonesboro Community High School and a founding member of the Union County Genealogical and Historical Society, died Sunday from congestive heart failure. She was 96 years old. With her passing goes nearly a century of knowledge about Union County's past, said fellow historical society member Judy Travelstead. It also means the group has lost a dedicated individual, as Brown was serving as president of the society's board at the time of her death. Brown helped establish the society in 1974. "Losing her vast wealth of knowledge is one thing but losing somebody who had the kind of commitment she had to the historical society is what we'll really miss," Travelstead said. The society recently celebrated the opening of its new Union County Museum in Cobden, a project Brown helped oversee, though she never got to see the finished product with her own eyes. "That was one of the sad things; she didn't get to see the museum," Travelstead said. "But she knew it had opened and she was very proud." Brown pursued history all of her life, but oddly enough she didn't write any of it down for publication until 2004, when the city officials in Anna asked her to write a two-page pamphlet describing some of the town's oldest buildings. The pamphlet turned into a whole book, "Around Town with Jane Brown," which was published just before her 95th birthday. Travelstead edited the book for Brown and said the piece was extraordinary for more than one reason."She wrote it long-hand, strictly from her memory. I edited the book for her and found she was rarely wrong about any of the buildings or the families who occupied those structures," Travelstead said. "She added anecdotes about the people, which made the book very readable." The book has sold out in two printings, but Travelstead said the historical society will likely issue a third printing in the near future. Writing an entire historical account from memory doesn't surprise Riley. Her mother was a veritable library of information people would travel far and wide to hear, she said. "She had a family of four appear at her door one time, looking for information about their, father who lived in Anna," Riley said. "They were from out of town so they didn't know anybody, but (Brown) was able to help them track down a picture somebody had taken from an event from years back. What drove her, I don't know; just a keen and lively intellect of all things around here." Riley said her mother's ability to remember dates and names was unparalleled. "She used to say, worrying about dates, 'There is no one old enough to argue with me. ' She had a sense of humor like that, but she was also very, very careful with her documentation," Riley said. Travelstead said Brown lived her last days as she always did - to the fullest extent. "The last year and a half, she was in a wheelchair and on oxygen, but she still got up every morning, put on her makeup and kept going," Travelstead said. "In her condition, it would have been easy for her to retreat into her apartment. She never considered herself a little old lady, and if you talked to her on the phone you would never think she was 96." Riley said Brown was vigorously writing down history in her final weeks. "She had just completed writing a history of the historical society. She finished that up about a week or so ago, and she had also been working, up until a few weeks ago, on orchards in Union County and the history of the families who had run them, which included her grandfather," Riley said. "I think she decided there was no one else who knew this, and I think she thought it was time to get it down on paper." Visitation for Brown will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home, 301 West Spring St. in Anna. ontributions to memorials may be made to the Union County Museum, P.O. Box 93, Cobden, IL 62920.

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Last Updated on 07/14/2019