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Friday, August 3, 2007
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Pedestrian Verdelle Goble, 76, fatally struck on College Drive
Staff Writer Verdelle Goble was described Thursday as a kind, gentle woman, always smiling and ready to give a hug.
Goble, 76, was struck by a pickup on College Drive in Brainerd early Thursday morning. She was taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center where she died.
Goble lived in an apartment across from Central Lakes College and had been walking in the crosswalk at Southwest Sixth Street to CLC when she was struck. Goble had been on her way to her volunteer job at the CLC information desk. She volunteered in many areas at CLC, from helping to staff the information desk Thursday mornings to assisting the CLC Foundation with mailings and marketing endeavors.
Goble had subbed every Thursday morning for the past three years for receptionist Melody Weber at the information desk when Weber had a weekly meeting. Weber learned about Goble's death when she returned to her desk at 9 a.m. Thursday. She and her coworkers were shocked and saddened by her death.
"She was one of the most kind and caring persons I have ever met in my life," Weber said. "You've just felt like you've known her your whole life. I will miss her terribly. She just always had a hug for me, always. She was one of the truly genuine caring people left in the world."
The accident occurred at 7:10 a.m. Weber said Goble would begin her Thursday volunteer job at 7:30 a.m. Every Thursday when Weber would get to the desk at 9 a.m., Goble always gave her a hug and would ask, "How was your day today? I'm so glad you made it here safely."
"She always found something wonderful about the day, no matter what had happened," Weber said.
During her 76 years, Goble touched many lives. She and her late husband, Glen, were Crow Wing County foster parents from 1974 until 2001 when she retired after 27 years as a foster parent. According to a 2000 Brainerd Dispatch article, Goble and her husband had cared for 148 foster children a year before her retirement.
Duane Golden, a retired longtime county foster parent licenser who worked closely with the Gobles, was saddened to learn of her death Thursday.
"They were probably some of the most patient and caring foster parents you could want," Golden said of the Gobles. "They were so willing to take children at all hours of the night. They took some really difficult kids and she loved the babies. They were loved by all foster parents and were really looked up to as model foster parents. It's just really a tragedy."
Goble would create a scrapbook of memories for each foster child, documenting their lives and milestones when they lived with them. It was something she sent with each child when they returned to parents or were adopted into a new family.
Goble served as an election judge for the city of Brainerd for almost 10 years and served on the city's Charter Commission in 1993, said Theresa Goble, city finance director and a relative by marriage.
"Verdelle was a wonderful caring person with a generous spirit," Theresa Goble said. "Verdelle was a very conscientious person and took her job as head judge at the polling site very serious. All the procedures were followed to the letter and she was always aware of the rights and privileges of the individual voters. The city will miss her commitment and her willingness to serve. I also knew Verdelle on a personal level and I will miss her great smile, enthusiasm for life and her always positive attitude."
In a statement released by CLC president Larry Lundblad, the staff, faculty and administration wanted to offer their heartfelt condolences to the Goble family.
"Verdelle will be greatly missed by everyone in the college community whose lives she touched," said Lundblad.
Despite having experienced great losses in her life, including the death of her husband and some of her children, her friends said she remained a positive person who enjoyed life. She loved to travel, attend Cultural Thursdays at CLC, was an avid quilter and an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church where she had been a member since April 1952. She was involved with several church groups, taught Sunday school, was a Bible study leader, had served as congregational president and recently wrote a booklet that documents the history of the church from 1888 to the present. She and her late husband would always attend church with their many foster children in tow.
Gail Fitch, a friend and fellow Trinity Lutheran Church member, said Goble was always there to lend a hand, whether it was to make a quilt or bake a cake for a funeral. She said Goble often loved to wear hats to church, which Fitch always looked forward to seeing on Sundays.
"I just can't believe this," Fitch said of Goble's death. "She was such a vital person and she just seemed so involved in life despite what had happened in her family. She will be missed."
Vivian Johnson, also a friend and Trinity church member, said Goble was a wonderful woman, always with a smile on her face.
"I'm just so saddened by this whole thing," Johnson said. "It's kind of like a dream yet that this has happened. But she certainly believed in God and lived a godly life so I'm sure she's up in heaven. She was just a delightful lady. She was very busy and loved by all."
Pastor David Holte of Trinity Lutheran Church said Goble was signed up to be a reader at Sunday's service. He said she would come out of church each Sunday and tell him that he needed a hug today and promptly would give him one.
"We're just very stunned about her death today because she was a part of this congregation," Holte said. "Everybody loved Verdelle. She just sees the good in everybody. She really was a pillar of this church. She's just one of those people who you can't replace."
Holte said about eight years ago, when he was having a particularly stressful time, he suddenly began receiving yellow smiley face stickers, balloons, and cards, often that read "Have a nice day." He wondered who was sending them. It wasn't until a few years later that Goble admitted she had been giving them to him. Smiley faces can be found throughout Trinity, particularly on the church bulletin board, a movement that started with Goble.
"The part that's difficult for me is she was a personal friend and support person for me as a pastor here and I just treasure her for everything," Holte said. "It's so sad and yet I can't be so sad either because of all the people I've known I don't know anyone who had a greater sense of trust and faith than Verdelle Goble. I can't be sad for her because I know where she is today. She's with her husband and children and parents and that should make us happy. The hard part is, don't cry for her but for ourselves."
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