Connie Jean (Ralls) Goss was born June 21, 1941 in Burwell, Nebraska to John William Ralls and Lucy Opal (Replogle) Ralls and passed away on June 7, 2020 at Good Samaritan Village in Grand Island, Nebraska. She attended Alcott School in Hastings, Nebraska. Her father died on May 18, 1952. As her mother didn’t want to raise 2 daughters alone, she moved back to Sargent, Nebraska to be near her family.
Connie spent time with her half sister, Norma Lee Walker during the summers on the family farm located in Dry Valley, west of Taylor. She helped in milking cows, feeding calves, gathering eggs, and helping in the garden.
After graduating from high school in Sargent, Connie attended Kearney State Teachers College before marrying Kenneth Stanley Bruce Goss on June 26, 1960. Two sons were born: Johnnie Bruce Stanley Goos and Fred Allen William Goss.
Connie loved working alongside her rancher husband: mowing, raking, and stacking hay; and working with cattle. One of her favorite expressions was “you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl”. After leaving the ranch, she kept working – for a plumbing company, Rinder Printing, the Salvation Army, and eventually for the packing plant in Grand Island as a bookkeeper. She retired December 31, 2010 after 27 years of service at the plant.
Among her many hobbies, Connie loved counted cross stitch. The south wall of their living room had a number of finished projects. Ken would remark how he liked to see them “grow” to a finished picture. Ken loved old locomotives and she stitched several of them for him. She also loved to garden and can fruits and vegetables, and loved to watch wildlife in her yard, providing corn and bird seed for the local birds, squirrels, songbirds, possums and cats. She had a special love for her pets, especially her dogs.
Connie attended the Solid Rock Baptist Church in Grand Island and was a devoted follower of Christ. Connie was preceded in death by her beloved husband, parents, and half-sister. She is survived by her children: son JB and wife Jackie Goos of Doniphan and their children, Misti Carr and family, and Benjamin Carr and family; and son Fred and wife Jean Goss of Independence, MO and their children Blaine Walker and Liberty; sister Carole Sue McRae and husband Mac of Colorado Springs, Colorado, along with extended family and friends.
Funeral service will be held on Friday, June 12, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at Govier Brothers Chapel in Broken Bow, NE with Pastor Jeremy Reagan officiating. The funeral will be live streamed at www.govierbrothers.com. Interment will approximately be at 12:30 p.m. in the Taylor Cemetery in Taylor. Memorials are suggested to the Solid Rock Baptist Church in Grand Island. A visitation will be held on Thursday, June 11, 2020 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow. An online guest book can be signed at www.govierbrothers.com Govier Brothers Mortuary will comply with the CDC and State of Nebraska.
