Obituary of Jane Rose Goodyear

Jane Rose LaPenna Goodyear, a resident of Port Chester for sixty years and recently a resident of Darien died on January 25, 2009. She was born on February 7, 1916, in Liverpool, NY and was one of seven children born to Raffaele and Maria Capozzi LaPenna. Jane Goodyear graduated from Oswego State Normal School in 1936, and began a lifetime of teaching in a one room schoolhouse in Liverpool, NY. She went on to continue her education at NYU and enjoyed taking classes at local educational institutions throughout her career. She is best remembered for her years of service in the Port Chester School System by many generations of elementary school children. She taught at Edison School and Park Avenue Elementary School before becoming part of the first class of teachers to move from Park Avenue Elementary School to the newly built King Street Elementary School. She taught at King Street Elementary School from its opening until her retirement. She was especially proud of the original plays that she wrote, which her elementary school classes performed every year. She was honored when the Village of Port Chester asked her to have her class perform a special Centennial Anniversary play that she had written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of the Village of Port Chester. In her retirement she was always greeted with a cheerful "Hello Mrs. Goodyear" from her many former students of all ages as she went about her errands in Port Chester and the surrounding area. While at Oswego State Normal School, she was a member of Arethusa Sorority (Sigma Gamma Phi). It was at a sorority dance that she met her husband, Herman Goodyear. She was active in the order of the Eastern Star throughout her lifetime in Port Chester, and was a former Grand Matron. Mrs. Goodyear was proud to point out that she had been to every state in the US, and she enjoyed travels to Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. She was married on January 23, 1937 to Herman E. Goodyear, who predeceased her. Surviving children are a daughter, Eleanor Goodyear Kreuch and her husband Paul C. Kreuch of Darien, CT and her son Herman E. Goodyear and his partner Jeffrey M. Trunzo of Takoma Park, MD. A daughter, Elaine H. Goodyear predeceased her. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Mitchell Kreuch , and his wife Alison of Darien, CT; Matthew Kreuch and his wife Michelle of Purcellville, VA; and Steven Kreuch and his wife Maria of Brooklyn, NY. She is also survived by five great grandchildren, Peter, Steven and Thomas Kreuch of Darien, CT and Alexander and Haley Kreuch of Purcellville, VA. A private Funeral Service will be held at the Lawrence Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Memorial contributions in her name may be made to the Tamarack Tower Foundation, P.O. Box 1718, Port Chester, NY 10573. www.lawrencefuneralhome.com. Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820