Elizabeth Goff Harper

Elizabeth Goff was born in Sarasota, FL, on September 11, 1927.  Having been a child growing up during the Great Depression, Elizabeth’s early childhood memories easily could have been jaded by everything that was lacking and the bleak outlook of the future, but instead she described a childhood full of rich memories and colorful characters.  You see, Sarasota, FL was the winter home for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.  Each winter, following a year of touring the country, the circus train would bring all the animals and performers back to Sarasota to rest and recuperate for the winter.  They would parade through town. She said It was like having your own private show.  And during those hard-economic times, it was not uncommon for families to take in boarders.  I remember her telling me the story of one winter having a family of Romanian trapeze artists living with them and all the strange and exciting things the family did.  She had heard of kids of running away from home to join the circus, but she considered herself lucky they came to her!  Living her life in a circus-like atmosphere was a theme that would carry forward.

Later In her teen years, her family relocated to the northside of Jacksonville, Fl where she attended Kirby Smith Jr. High and later graduated from Andrew Jackson Sr. High class of 1945.  Following graduation, she briefly attended Florida State College for Women, later to become known as Florida State University, to pursue a degree in Art.  However, she quickly became disillusioned with her choice after her professor spent the majority of her first semester teaching on primary colors, something she considered to be a complete waste of her time.  She never had much time for people telling her what to do, especially when she thought she knew better, and she had no problem changing her mind.    These too would be themes that carried on throughout her life.

Her disillusionment, coupled with being home sick, led to her return to Jacksonville where she went to work with Southern Bell, and work she did. She retired from Southern Bell after 37 years of service.  Upon her retirement, they gave her a watch which she thought was a silly gift as she would never again from that point forward have to live her life according to where the big hand and little hand were pointing.  Again, a theme that would carry forward.

Marriage to her first husband reinforced her dissatisfaction with people, especially men, telling her what to do.  However, she was not dissuaded from marriage.  She had three children in quick succession with her second husband:  Carla, Paula, and the youngest who was to be Della, but alas, it was a boy.  She had liked the way Carla, Paula and Della rolled off the tongue, but had to scrap the melodic alliteration and decided to name him instead Happy Harper.  But unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of reference, the baby boy developed a horrible, or terrific depending on your point of reference, rash on his face and cried non-stop for the first couple of days of his life. So, she settled on the name Dale, and ripped the already embroidered name Happy off the baby shirts.  (Reference theme of penchant to change her mind)

She was widowed nine months later leaving Elizabeth alone to raise three kids, all under the age of five.  By this time, Elizabeth had had her fill of marriage, and was determined to raise the three children on her own, something certainly outside the norm of the time.   With assistance from her parents, and a progression of maids, she did just that.  It was not your traditional family, but the children, much to the surprise of many, excelled.  Carla persisted at the top of her classes, top of her classes throughout school and later established herself in Information Technology field.  Paula, also a good student, and by far the nicest of the three, both extremely responsible and nurturing, as witnessed by being every neighborhood mom’s first choice of babysitter.  And then there was Dale.  He was a boy, that was different.  He was also fast.  He had a tendency to run his mouth a lot as a child, but he wasn’t very big.  So, to survive, when fight or flight kicked in, he chose the latter and became a fairly decent runner. This athletic ability helped him get through college.

Elizabeth was extremely proud of her three children and what they had become despite the odds.  This gave her a special appreciation for the females raising children on their own.  Whether nursing baby kittens with an eye dropper to assist the poor worn out mama cat, or sending some money to a single-parent mom or to her kids, Elizabeth did what she could to make life a little better for them, knowing first hand many of the struggles she had endured.

Outside of working full-time and raising her three children, Elizabeth had little to no time for hobbies.   Her pleasures in life were the simple things like family, a good avocado, fresh watermelon, fried shrimp while waiting on the Mayport Ferry after taking her kids on a trip to the beach, a butter pecan ice cream cone, watching an old movie on TV while lying in bed with cinnamon toast and a cup of hot tea, good bar-b-que with slaw and fries, a corned beef on rye with mustard and pickle from Worman’s Deli.  She liked listening to music from her era and enjoyed going to the movies with an affinity for musicals.

Elizabeth, who will be mourned by many, was unpredictable, unconventional, unusual in many things that she did.  One time while in her eighties, Elizabeth mentioned to her daughter-in-law how much fun the kids were having catching waves on their boogie boards.  Her daughter-in-law jokingly suggested to her she ought to grab a board and try it out, and Elizabeth took her up on it. She grabbed a board while fully-clothed and headed for the waves. This caused the daughter-in-law to scramble to find someone to stop her, but by the time she told her husband what was happening, Elizabeth was already churning head over heels in the waves.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents, George Murry Goff and Julia Calhoun Goff, her husband, Carlos Evans Harper, and her younger sister, Danella Goff Neely.  She is survived by her three adult, and again surprisingly non-incarcerated children:  Carla Beth Bowers, Paula Jermier, and Dale Harper, along with their respective spouses:  Timothy Bowers, Jack Jermier Jr, and Linda Bledsoe Harper, grandchildren Jack Jermier III, Lindsey and Peyton Harper, and Alana Bowers, and great grandchildren Scarlett and Jackson Jermier.  Also, nieces Pam Faison and Julie Little and nephews Robert and Daniel Neely, and brother-in-law Bob Neely.  Elizabeth also had a special love for her cousins throughout her life (Martha Meade, Ruth Taylor, Rachel Brantley, Edna Keith, JA Faircloth and Cornelia Howard).

Elizabeth delighted in seeing a meadow filled with beautiful wildflowers.  She often referred to them as God’s volunteers.   In her honor, her ashes are to be spread privately in an appropriate location at a later date.

The family will host a virtual memorial service for family members to be planned later this autumn.

Though Elizabeth never had much, she would always share with those less fortunate or struggling with life’s challenges. Therefore, In lieu of flowers, help celebrate Elizabeth’s life by finding someone in need and helping them, however you are able.  She would like that.

She made the world a better place, and in the end, that’s the best we could hope to accomplish as we pass through.