Wilma Laverne Goodwin

On Thursday, May 22, 2014,Wilma Laverne Goodwin passed from this life. Laverne was born on September 16, 1932 to Thomas Edward Smith and Edna Earl Nix in Eldorendo, Decatur County, Georgia. The oldest of seven siblings, she was preceded in death by Harold Smith, Carl Smith and Ruth Smith Shuford, and is survived by Jim Smith, Johnny Smith, and Carolyn Smith Welch, and by her daughters Cheryl (Les) Potter and Dana (Michael) Tomerlin. She has seven granddaughters, four grandsons, and six great granddaughters, and a great grandson expected this summer, all of whom will dearly miss her love and compassion, her sense of humor and her sweet southern ways.

Laverne grew up on the family peanut farm and had many fond memories of those days. The family moved to Florida when she was still a young girl, then settled in Bainbridge, Georgia. Laverne was a loving older sister, watching over her brothers and her sisters to enable her mother to support the family. She was a good student, and played trumpet in the high school marching band in Bainbridge.

Laverne moved to Houston, Texas, several years after graduating high school, and worked as an insurance underwriter. She answered a "help wanted" ad for a cashier as a second job, and wound up working for her future husband, Daniel Lee Whitney Goodwin. The two were married on January 2, 1958. Their oldest daughter, Cheryl, was born in September 1958, followed by another daughter, Dana, in November 1969. Dan and Laverne moved from Houston to Dallas in 1961.

Dan and Laverne have been members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for nearly 50 years. They served in many capacities in the church, and their close friends and relations within its membership number into the several hundreds in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Laverne served as Meetinghouse Librarian, Relief Society President, as a nursery worker in the Dallas Temple, as a worker in the Family History Library, as an Assistant to Patriarch Gene Gabriel, and as a Visiting Teacher. Laverne sustained her husband Dan in his theater work and church service, raised her two daughters and worked at several retail positions over the years.

Laverne is preceded in death by her husband Dan, who passed away in January 1996. They enjoyed nearly 40 years of marriage in this life, and are now reunited for time and all eternity. Their example of love, service, sacrifice and faith are a shining light to her many friends and family.

A viewing will be held Tuesday evening, May 27, 2014, from 6 to 8 pm at the Eastgate Funeral Home located at 1910 Eastgate Drive, Garland, Texas. Services for Wilma Laverne Smith Goodwin will be held on Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at 11:00 am in the Lake Highlands Stake Center located at 10701 Lake Highlands Drive, Dallas, Texas. Laverne will be interred at Sparkman-Hillcrest Cemetery located at 7405 W Northwest Highway in Dallas, Texas, immediately following the services.