Alice Goughnour

Alice Larson Goughnour, 93, Bismarck, died on Thursday, May 28, 2009, at the Benedictine Living Center, Garrison, following a long bout with Alzheimer’s Disease. Services will be held at 11:00 am Monday, June 1, 2009, at Parkway Funeral Service Chapel, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Burial will be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bismarck. Visitation will be held from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm Sunday at Parkway Funeral Service and will continue one hour prior to the service. Alice was born on April 27, 1916, in Temvik, ND, to Elizabeth and Anton Larson. She graduated from Hazelton High School shortly after her 16th birthday and attended what was then Ellenville Teacher’s College where she received a teacher’s certificate. She taught for one year in a one room school house near her parents’ farm in Emmons County but teaching was not for her. She then worked at the North Dakota State Capitol for several years and spent many lunch hours in the North Dakota House of Representatives and the North Dakota State Senate listening to her father who served in both. On June 13, 1942, Alice married her high school sweetheart, Myron W. Mike Goughnour, MD, in Washington, D.C. She worked for the American Red Cross while her husband was in the U.S. Army Officer Training before he was shipped overseas in 1943. Following WW II, Alice and her husband moved to Toledo, Ohio where Mike completed his medical residency. They moved to Bismarck in 1949. Alice was a consummate punster. She loved books, words and crossword puzzles. She could always be counted on to pull an apt quote out of her hat. She had a great sense of style, a wicked sense of humor, blazing blue eyes and a smile that mirrored her soul. Her whistling always made people smile. She wrote poetry and thought nothing of cooking for 30 relatives, long before there was central air conditioning. She said she only taught at a country school for one year because she didn’t like having to shovel snow, stoke the fire all day and keep children aged 5-19 occupied all day long. For Alice the glass was always half full. She appreciated and dearly loved her friends. She played a mean game of Jeopardy and enjoyed rummaging through flea markets and antique stores. Although she never learned to read music her hearing was so acute she played the violin, mandolin and piano by ear, always surpassing her daughters in the number of songs she could play “by heart.” She threw fabulous parties, wrote poetry, read junky mysteries well into the night and loved champagne. She had her own unique style which until recently included her favorite uniform -- a very cool jumper, long sleeved blouse, interesting pin at her neckline and heels that even her podiatrist could never talk her out of wearing. Soft blond curls framed her face. Alice cherished her family. She was equally passionate about her Norwegian heritage and her husband’s Irish heritage. She was a pretty darn fine bridge player, a cherished aunt, an unbelievable mother, a proud grandmother, a great friend, a loving wife and one grand dame. Mom, we’ll miss you forever. Surviving Alice are two daughters, Karen Ridings Jim Heckmann, Des Moines, IA and Kathy Beishir Bernard Beishir, Rockford, IL; five grandchildren, Ryan Ridings, Brooklyn, NY, Meredith Ridings, Los Angeles, CA, Brenna Beishir, Kelcy Beishir and Kent Beishir, Rockford, IL; one great grandson, Aiddan Kenagy, Rockford, IL; nieces and nephews Paul Bertie Bertrams, Oroville, CA, Alice Mae Bertrams, Powder Springs, GA, Audrey Larson Huseth, Riverside, CA, James A. Cindy Manly, Fargo, Robert E. Jan Manly, New Rockford. She is also survived by her dear friends, Donna and Emerson Murray, Bismarck. She was preceded in death by her parents, seven brothers and sisters, her husband, Mike and their infant son, Gerald Patrick. Her family deeply thanks the Benedictine Living Center in Garrison for the loving care she received in the last two years of her life. Donations may be made to the National Alzheimer’s Association.

Alice Goughnour

April 27, 1916 - May 28, 2009