Emily Darby Gooding

Use photo with this obit

Mrs. Emily Darby Gooding passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 29, 2006, at the Presbyterian Nursing Home in Quitman, Georgia, at the age of 93. Daughter of the late A.P. and Annie Mae Horne Darby, Mrs. Gooding was born October 22, 1912, in Vidalia, Georgia and spent her early years in Vidalia and Douglas, Georgia. She attended Georgia Southern College, graduating with a teaching degree and taught for several years at the Center School outside Vidalia. Most of her adult life was spent in Jacksonville, Florida, from the mid 1930’s until 1995. In Jacksonville, she was a civilian employee of U.S. Naval Intelligence, and at the outbreak of World War II was transferred with the Seventh (Florida) Naval District Headquarters Staff to Miami. After World War II, she worked for the U.S. Social Security Administration. A businesswoman before her time, Mrs. Gooding was active in the mortgage and real estate company founded by her late husband and herself, which she managed after his death in 1976, and well into her 70’s. Active in various civic and community affairs, she was an avid bridge player, having been in the same bridge club for over 40 years. Mrs. Gooding was a kind, loving mother and grandmother. She once escorted her grandchildren to a Michael Jackson concert at the Gator Bowl. She was an avid world traveler.

Mrs. Gooding was preceded in death by her husband, T. Hagood Gooding and her daughter, Jean Gooding Simpson. She is survived by her son, Thompson H. Gooding, Jr., his wife, Mary, and their children, Darby and Thompson all of Valdosta, Georgia, and also by grandchildren, Susan Gooding Simpson and Mark Lindsay Simpson and her son-in-law, H. Lindsay Simpson, M.D., all of Pensacola, Florida. Other survivors include two brothers, Pat Darby and John Darby, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends in Valdosta, Georgia from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1, 2006, at the Carson McLane Funeral Home. A visitation will also be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3, 2006, in Jacksonville, Florida at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 4115 Hendricks Avenue, followed by a graveside service at 11:30 a.m. at Oaklawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Baptist Home for Children, 2300 Bartram Road, Jacksonville, FL 32207, to The Salvation Army or the Valwood School. Condolences may be conveyed online at www.mclanefuneralservices.com.


Funeral Home:
Carson McLane Funeral Home
2215 North Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA
US 31602