Jessie Ann Goehner

JESSIE ANN STANZEL GOEHNER – WRITER, DIES AT 85

Jessie Ann Stanzel Goehner, born May 20, 1936, in Rahway, N.J. died peacefully on July 21, 2021 at Brandywine Senior Living, Haddonfield, NJ after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Jessie was the daughter of Janet Bain McFarlane Stanzel and Rudolph Albert Stanzel, Sr.

and was raised in suburban Westfield, NJ. with her older brother, Rudy.  

One of Jessie’s fondest memories from childhood was being a Mariner Scout, part of the nation’s Girl Scout program. As a scout she embarked on a week-long cruise on the brigantine "Yankee" with Skipper Irving Johnson to Mystic, Connecticut. That adventure forged lifelong friendships among her crewmates.

Jessie graduated from Westfield High School in 1954 and went on to graduate from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she received her BA degree in Education with the class of 1958.

Jessie met her husband Ronald, through his cousin, Marianne Gehrhardt, in 1957. While dating, they enjoyed picnics, long walks, and excursions with friends to New York City. Ronald treated Jessie to concerts at Carnegie Hall and they always sat in the two center seats of the front row.  Jessie married Ronald Henry Goehner at The Presbyterian Church in Westfield, NJ on February 20, 1960.

Once married she resided in South Plainfield, NJ, Lawrenceville, NJ and Saratoga, CA before moving to the Packanack Lake community in Wayne in 1973 where she resided on Castles Drive until 2018.

While raising three children, Jessie pursued a Master of Arts degree in Communications from William Paterson College and graduated in 1979.

Jessie worked as a freelance writer journalist often covering the local school board.  She also wrote several children’s stories inspired by her experiences as a teacher and mother. One beloved story,“Watery Wednesday” was a playful message on how to make the most of the “rainy” days we are given.

She worked at the National Institutes for the Blind in their purchasing department and later switched careers to work in the public relations and communications department for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, NJ.

In retirement Jessie put her career experiences to work on behalf of Healing the Children NJ, a non-profit organization that provides essential medical care to children of the world. For her volunteer work with Healing the Children, Jessie was honored with the NJ Governor’s Award in 2002.

In 2013, Jessie published a novel, The Crooked Play Straight, which was a tale of medical intrigue. This fulfilled a lifelong dream to write and publish a full-length novel. The project had long been deferred by demands of her family, career, and volunteer work.

Jessie was an active member of Packanack Community church in Wayne for 45 years. As a church member she believed wholly in the need for inclusivity in the church and worked to promote that message within the congregation.

Jessie truly dedicated her life to caring for others. She managed food pantries, volunteered to teach English as a second language at Literacy of America in Passaic, and volunteered for several other charities, including a counseling center through her church. Jessie served as co-president of the Packanack swim team with her husband Ronald in the mid 1980s and was on the board of governors for the Packanack lake community association. Jessie would often take on the less visible tasks and assist with operations, accounting, fundraising and communications. Jessie also advocated for historical and environmental preservation both globally and within her community and passed that ethic on to her children.  

During Ron and Jessie’s retirement they enjoyed many travels that included a boating adventure down the Snake River canyon, riding camels in Egypt, and several visits to Europe for family genealogy research. In 1992 Ron and Jessie purchased a beach bungalow in Ocean Grove, NJ that had been the home of Jessie’s Great cousin, Anne Bain Forrester. There they spent many happy summers at the Jersey shore.

Jessie is predeceased by her husband of 55 years, Ronald Henry Goehner and her brother Rudolph A. Stanzel Jr.

Surviving is her sister-in-law, Marguerite “Peg” Craig Stanzel, and her cousin, Alberta MacFarlane Matyas

Also surviving are her children, Ronald Henry Goehner Jr., Thomas Bain Goehner, Janet Marie Goehner-Jacobs, and her husband, David Scott Jacobs. Jessie is also survived by her two grandchildren, Heidi Anne Jacobs, Philippe Kallagov, and his wife Maria Perez Kallagov and their daughters Abby Walsh and Alicia Kallagov.

As a writer, Jessie’s words on the page will endure, but her greatest legacy will be her many acts of compassion for those most in need.

Jessie’s family is eternally grateful to Brandywine of Haddonfield for providing such wonderful care in her final years, allowing her to live her best life to the end.

Those planning an expression of sympathy in Jessie’s memory are asked to consider giving to Healing the Children, 112 Fifth Avenue Hawthorne, NJ 07506 or online at http://www.htcnj.org