Oldie but a Goodey

Oldie but a Goodey

In all of her 90 years, Sybil Goodey has moved maybe 150 yards.
As the middle of five children, Sybil T. Goodey was born and raised in the farming community of Clarkston, Utah.
“I grew up, married my neighbor, and we’ve moved half a block in our life,” Sybil said.
She may not be the most well known woman in the valley, but Sybil knows Cache County well and is a huge USU fan.
Sybil and her late husband Dallas used to regularly attend the Aggie sporting events. Basketball was their favorite sport to watch together.
When the games were held in the Nelson Field House and the Aggies scored over 100 points, Sybil recalled, she and her husband would get the free french fries Labeau’s gave out.
And when the Aggies started playing in the Spectrum, there was no keeping the Goodeys out of the games.
“We had season passes and sat right on the floor,” Sybil said, “but now I watch at home because I can’t make it up those stairs anymore.”
Sybil sits alone in her rocking chair, usually with needle and thread in hand, cross-stitching different designs on dish towels for her children and grand children.
She used to go on regular walks to the local cemetery, but now she has a hard time even getting out of her recliner in her living room.
However, when the gracefully aged, white haired woman does need to get out of her chair, she gives herself the motivational count off, “1-2-3 up,” and slowly begins the standing process.
Sybil fought through tears when she recalled dancing the night away with her childhood sweetheart decades ago at Utah State’s 50th Anniversary party.
In 1938, Dallas Goodey, Utah State Agriculture College forestry major, invited Sybil to go with him to the campus’ celebration.
He may not have loved dancing, but he was in love with Clarkston’s “Miss Utah”—the title Sybil held during the Pioneer Day parade the previous summer.
When Sybil was 21, Dallas made Sybil his permanent dancing partner.
The two Clarkston locals were married in 1939 and stayed happily married for the next 68-½ years, never relocating from their hometown.
Sybil was a September bride, along with three of her best friends since 1st grade.
All of those brides out-lived their husbands, and currently three are still “alive and kicking,” as Ulalia Simper, one of elderly widows, said.
Ulalia and Sybil are both living alone now, and since neither has the strength or ability to leave their home, they chat on the phone to keep in touch.
“Sybil was a good friend,” Ulalia said. She was always willing to help and she was a good wife to Dallas.
Sybil misses her husband, and even displays a fridge magnet and throw pillow that read, “I love Dallas.”
But she is still going on as strong as she can, swallowing 16 pills and a Coke daily as she works through Parkinson’s, cancer, and a broken foot among other ailments.
“I still haven’t had to work a day in my life,” she said. “I stayed home with the family, but that wasn’t work.”
Karen Kent, Sybil’s oldest daughter, said although Sybil may have never been employed, she was definitely the hardest worker Clarkston has ever known.
“She would wake up at the crack of dawn every day,” Kent said. “She never quit.”
Sybil was a hard charger, never giving up on her family or anyone else.
In addition to being a homemaker for her family, Sybil worked with many other organizations, like Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.
Sybil was one of the original presidency members for her chapter of DUP.
Louise Butters, the current historian for DUP and dear friend of Sybil’s, said Sybil was one of the most organized ladies she has know and was always dependable in any office she held for DUP.
Both Sybil and Dallas valued service and improving the people and area around them, which is why they worked at the Clarkston cemetery for 32 years, hand digging the grounds and maintaining the lawn.
Mervin Thompson, the former mayor of Clarkston, said Sybil was the best record keeper the cemetery has ever had.
In fact, Thompson nominated Dallas and Sybil for the Utah Humanitarian Award for Service in 2003.
After being nominated on the local level, the Goodeys actually received the prestigious award for their dedication to their community from the governor of Utah.
It may have been several years since receiving the honor, but Sybil remembers that day clearly, just like many of her other reflections from her younger years.
Sybil’s favorite memories in life have included riding with her husband when he was a bus driver for the school district and going for sleigh rides in Trenton with her family.
Dwelling on positive memories, like raising her seven children in her 101 year-old home bring a thin smile and more creases to Sybil’s beautifully wrinkled face.
The home and two acres she currently lives on was bought for $700 in 1939 when the two Clarkston lovebirds married.
Memories are the reason for living, Sybil said. They let her dwell on fun filled events and learned lessons from the past.
Focusing on good memories and retelling stories are motivational factors for her now.
But Sybil is getting ready to give the self-motivation a rest.
“I’m feeling old,” she said, “very old.”
But nobody ever really knows, maybe Sybil still needs to reach over 100 before she can get the french fries at the end of her game.