For anyone who knew Sara June Goode two things stood out: her energy and enthusiasm. These qualities were even more obvious to her four daughters.
Our mother was the original super woman and not just because she could work all day, prepare supper, clean house, read at least a book a week, sew clothes and cart us to every event we signed up for. There was something magical about her and her ability to inspire those around her.
She instilled in her daughters the love of performance. As Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe wrote new musicals, we learned the stories and the music and would sing along with the record or accompanied by Mother at the piano. As the plays became movies, we were the first to buy our tickets and be spellbound. During summers Bob Boone would direct summer musicals, and our family participated, one way or another.
Although the four of us received opportunities to take piano, dance and voice lessons, we never went on to achieve great success. However, you wouldn’t know that to watch or listen to Sara June. She attended every event we participated in whether it was a shorthand competition, poetry reading, play, musical, choir concert, talent show, and drill team or cheerleading events. She designed and made all our costumes for recitals, plays and any other activities. In designing a costume for Meet Me in St. Louis, Mother went to the A&M library to research period clothing. For The Boyfriend she created four separate roaring twenties costumes, all the while playing the piano for rehearsals and performances. She was our biggest fan. Her interest and involvement expanded to include her grandchildren and great grandchildren. After visiting a junior high choir class to share the story of Madam Butterfly, she accompanied the students to the opera in Houston. What other 76-year-old grandmother has done that?
When OPAS began and we were finally able to see live productions, they were even more enchanting than we imagined. Mother gave that gift to us, the community and future generations with her support of OPAS.
Lovingly submitted by Celia, Julie, Marcy & Sara
"Few people make the kind of lasting impression that Sara June Goode made on everyone
she met. Her bright eyes, kind demeanor and zest for life were only a few of the things
which made her special. Her love of the arts, of course, was apparent to everyone who
knew her. She looked forward to each new OPAS season and was especially looking forward
to "Simply Sinatra" and the April concert by Frederica Von Stade and Samuel Ramey.
Sara June served OPAS in many capacities for 37 years. She loved music, Broadway and
dance and felt a great responsibility to make sure our community had those things in
abundance. She connected with young people in a very special way and an invitation to
dinner at Sara June’s was at the top of every OPAS student’s wish list. Her buttermilk pie
is legendary to a host of former students who had the privilege of getting one of those
invitations.
Perhaps the memory I will carry most vividly is of Sara June standing outside the main
entrance of Rudder, greeting hundreds of school children as they made their way into the
hall. It was her favorite job in OPAS and probably says the very most about what made
Sara June Goode so special."
Anne Black, OPAS Executive Director
"Sara June was passionate about the arts. However, this is not a surprising state considering her parents both sang opera in their early years and owned one of the most popular music stores in Dallas. Her father, E.G. Council, was known as “The Music Man,” and when World War I ended, the mayor called E.G. to lead a citywide sing-along at the State Fair Grounds.
Her passion, however, did not simply come from artistic genes. It sprang from a heart deprived of those events which made it beat the fastest! Imagine the musical and theatrical opportunities College Station offered in the mid-forties when the Goodes arrived. Sara June once recounted the first play she and her girls experienced. “Mainly, traveling troops came through, and one day I read in the paper that “The Passion Play” was to be performed on campus and the group was soliciting extras. I loaded up the girls and we were front and center, ready for auditions. We were given old, dirty costumes, and my award winning line was, ‘Crucify him!’ Our greatest moment occurred when one of our daughters got to sit on Jesus’ lap! The arts have come a long way since then.”
Fortunately for Sara June, OPAS was organized, and opportunities for expanding her passion sprang up.
Not only did first class performances arrive at the Texas A&M campus, but a multitude of opportunities to expand the arts surfaced. She attended almost every OPAS performance, be it a main stage or intimate gathering, participated in Camp OPAS by greeting the students and telling them stories about famous composers, attended puppet performances sponsored by the OPAS student group, and attended numerous planning sessions which explored ways to take the performing arts to local public school students. There was never a task too large or too small for SJ, and she loved every moment of her OPAS time.
Tonight we view yet another first class performance that OPAS bring us. Many of us take for granted the entertainment this group provides, but rest assured, Sara June is viewing the show and saying to herself, 'We’ve come a long way, Baby!'”
Nita Hoelscher
Last May, OPAS and other non-profit organizations in Bryan/College Station
lost an ardent, dedicated and loyal supporter with the passing of Sara June
Goode.
In the early 1970s, J. Wayne Stark, then Director of the Memorial Student
Center at Texas A&M University, recruited a small group of us to serve as a
nucleus for organizing OPAS. We enlisted numerous volunteers and supporters
from "town and gown" to serve on various committees. Sara June and her
husband were early volunteers and contributors to both OPAS and The OPAS
Guild. During her 37 years of membership, her zeal for these organizations
never wavered. Her enthusiasm was contagious and she seldom missed an OPAS
performance.
Sara June will be remembered as a caring, compassionate and wonderful lady
who possessed an abundance of energy and intellect. She also had a quick wit
and a great sense of humor. As her friend, I remember the time she confided
that even though her parents were very musical, she always had great
aspirations to become a professional dancer. Laughingly, I quickly asked"What type?...ballet, ballroom or EXOTIC?" She replied, "I'll keep you
guessing, Ann!" And so she did...for several years! Thankfully, she finally
revealed it wasn't exotic!!!
In the spring of 2009, OPAS initiated the first Sara June Goode Lifetime
Achievement Award and it was a tremendous honor for me to receive this very
special award. It was an honor and privilege for me to know and work with
Sara June, and her family, who provided their time and financial assistance
to help make OPAS the success that it is today. She will always be greatly
missed!
Ann Wiatt
OPAS President, 1978-79
OPAS Guild Co-Founder & President, 1973-74
Sara June Goode was a storyteller who Garrison Keeler would have loved.
Using her down-home language and subtle dramatic style, she might take an
audience on a walk through the life and times of her childhood. Or, she
might examine the moral quandary of a teenager's temptation. Or, she might
explore the relationship between two musical instruments. Her soft, raspy
voice and sincere facial expressions were so captivating that listening to
her tell a story was almost like "being there."
Sara June was at her best as the storyteller at Camp OPAS. One year, with
dozens of fourth-grade children at her feet, she told the story of a specific Opera with all the drama of an on-stage performer. The power of her
story held the attention of even the most hyperactive child. On another
occasion, she used mesmerizing facial expressions as she described the"personality" of each instrument in a string quartet...then, elaborated on
the "special relationship" between the violin and the cello. Although she
often had a script, she never let a script get in the way of a good story.
And, no matter how far she wandered from the prepared word, she would always
get back to the point, and would wind everything up with, "and the moral of
the story is..."!
This year OPAS honors Sara June Goode. This is done in part because Sara
June honored OPAS for years and years with her presence. Even in her 90's,
she attended almost every scheduled performance that OPAS presented. She
also made it a point to attend as many events as she could that involved the
Aggies of OPAS. Sara June also honored OPAS with her support. She gave
generously to the OPAS endowment and to many other OPAS activities.
What a great year to honor a great storyteller by scheduling one the
greatest storytellers of all time to come to the A&M Campus. Garrison...we
are sorry you didn't have a chance to meet Sara June. You would have been
inspired by her wit, her wisdom and her witness. And, she would be the first
to assure you that all children (of all ages) are indeed well above average.
Buzz & Katy Pruitt
When I first moved to Bryan-College Station, as a newly minted lawyer, I went to work for Phillip Goode and Mike Hoelscher. Or so I thought. In hindsight, I’m not so sure about that.
You see, Phillip and Mike would hand me a file needing attention, and I would stare at its contents while exploring the sparse regions of my brain to find answers that might allow me to actually help someone. Sooner or later, I would ask Sara June Goode, in a roundabout way at first, for help. She had mercy, and wisdom, and within a few minutes, she had steered me in the right direction with the real answer to the question I needed to have asked.
Sara June quickly became not only one of my mentors, especially on the subject of “How the World Really Works”, but also a source of delightful conversation on topics ranging from music to politics, from issues of faith to pop culture. She was almost always interested in what I thought (even if she disagreed with an “oh, pooh”), and that kind of interest in me was a great gift, as a younger person.
Throughout the community, people who encountered Sara June’s energy, wit, and curiosity consider her an unforgettable character who inspired them. The people who were charmed by Sara June have stories and warm memories to share about their experience with her. I know that my exposure to Sara June Goode was not unique.
Somehow, though, as I write this, I still feel like it was. If you knew her, you probably feel the same way. All of us who were swept up into her whirl of life aren’t sure what hit us, but we know that whatever it was, she was something special.
Cully Lipsey
Hoelscher Lipsey & Elmore
