MARTHA ANN GOSS (MCGONIGLE)
1928-2021
Martha Ann Goss, age 92, passed away on Friday, January 29, 2021. She was born on Wednesday, December
12, 1928 in Houston, Texas, the year before the onset of the Great Depression. She spent her formative years in Ingleside, Texas (population 1,125) where her father served as head of the Humble Oil Refinery (Exxon Mobil).
She left Ingleside at age 16 to enter the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a degree in Child Development from the
School of Home Economics. She was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority where she made friends she kept all of her life. At a sorority/fraternity mixer, she met a young man from Brownsville, Texas named George McGonigle. Even though she questioned his fashion taste (he wore a green suit and a yellow tie) and he spent most of the evening talking to one of her friends, he made an impression. When he called the next day and asked for her, she was thrilled. (George said he couldn’t get over her great legs). That first date must have gone well because they were married in November 1949 after she graduated. They settled in Houston where she taught nursery school and he worked at the Champion Paper Mill until he snagged a better job with Exxon. They moved from a small apartment in West University to a small house in Bellaire where their first child, Steve, was born in 1953. Ann joined the family in 1955. And, in 1960, their third child, Ellen, was born. With three kids, they traded the little house in Bellaire for a roomier house in Meyerland. In the 1960’s, Meyerland was the very epitome of suburbia—everyone knew their neighbors, kids played safely in the streets and students walked to the neighborhood school.
Martha Ann reveled in being a wife, Mom and volunteer. She loved gardening, refinishing furniture and listening to Frank Sinatra.
She and George attended St. Thomas Episcopal Church, later moving to St. George’s and much later to St.
John’s. With her professionally trained voice, she was a valued member of the choir at all three churches. She loved historic houses and served as a docent at Bayou Bend. When George retired from Exxon, they moved to Austin where he served as the temporary provost of the Episcopal Seminary. They also spent a year in New York City where George assumed the role of Assistant to the Presiding Bishop of the national Episcopal Church. They returned to Austin where Martha Ann pursued her interest in antiques serving as a dealer for many years. She also volunteered her time at the Next to New resale shop. They have been devoted members of St. David’s Episcopal Church. Home, family, friends and church were the mainstays of her life.
She was Mother to Steve and Ellen McGonigle and Ann McGonigle Kifer. Mother-in-law to Kris Imherr and Charley Kifer. Grandmother to Josh and Kelsey McGonigle, Max and Eliza Kifer and Brazos Bell. GreatGrandmother to Maddie and Jax McGonigle. Sister-in-law to Betty McGonigle Capshaw. Aunt to Megan, John and Courtney Capshaw and Kelley Maxwell. She was married to George for 71 years. She was a lovely person with a fine sense of humor and a keen mind.
She will be greatly missed. Funeral services will be graveside at Glenwood Cemetery, 2525 Washington Ave, in Houston, TX at 10:00 AM on Saturday, February 20, 2021. The service will be Live Streamed. Live Stream Link:
https://www.facebook. com/WCFFunerals.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that you donate to The Central Texas Foodbank or Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Arrangements by WeedCorley-Fish Funeral Home, Austin, Texas – (512) 4528811. Remembrances may be shared at www.wcfish.com.