Evelyn J Goff's Obituary
Evelyn “Jackie” Goff, 83, went to be with the Lord Jesus Christ on November 24, 2014. She was born November 8, 1931 in Tampa, Florida to the late William and Rosetta (Barber) Spivey. She was the first of four brothers to be born in a hospital. Back then it was Tampa Municipal Hospital. Now it is the current Tampa General Hospital on Davis Island. Jackie couldn’t wait for the delivery room but was instead born in the waiting room.
Jackie is a fourth generation “Florida Cracker”. A term that was given for the Florida Cowboys who would “crack” their whips over herds of wild longhorn. She was born to pioneers of Florida. Her grandmother Spivey was a Seminole Indian. Grandma Barber-Keen’s family helped settle Lakeland. In her early years, she grew up just across the Hillsborough River where Billy Graham used to practice his sermons. She gave her heart to the Lord while playing church with her cousins in a field (now Pepin) across from Myrtle Hill Cemetery. Her father was a commercial crab man with his own crab processing plant. He supplied blue crab to the Columbia Restaurant, The Colonnade, Mirabella’s and other restaurants. Her mother hand picked a mess of crabs and could make Devil Crabs that tasted as good as the Seabreeze Restaurant’s.
She spent much of her young years in the theaters of Tampa and Ybor City and learned to play the piano in school. She took lessons but realized she could play just as well by ear. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, she had to duck under the piano bench for drill practice at school. Later in life she played piano at her uncle’s Pentecostal Church in Gibsonton. Her parents and their siblings both married into the same family so all her cousins looked like twins. Jackie grew in to a beautiful and shapely young lady who was mature beyond her years. She frequently rode the Tampa streetcars and was dubbed “Blondie” by all the motormen.
Jackie’s family and grandmother, lived on 7th Avenue. She walked a lot including to and from the Tampa Theatre on Franklin Street. In 1946, during one of her walks down 7th Avenue, she met Henry M. Goff who also was born there. For their first date, they rented bicycles and rode up and down Bayshore Blvd. Henry was the last original Tampa streetcar driver in 1946. He was also the son of a strawberry share-cropper in Turkey Creek. Henry, another Florida Cracker, spent his childhood doing child labor picking strawberries. He grew up on the road his father built in Turkey Creek named Goff Road. Evelyn also has a road named for her family as well………Spivey Road. It was named after her uncle who was the first to build on it in Bull Frog Creek. She loved photography. One of her shots is of Henry driving a street car on Franklin Street and is currently on display at the Tampa Bay History Center downtown. She also photographed streets downtown and MacDill Air Field.
Evelyn and Henry married at her parent’s house on Maple Lane just before Henry re-enlisted into the Army Air Corps/ Air Force. They traveled a lot and any time they were away from the Tampa area, her entire family was very good about regularly sending cards and letters to her. She was dearly loved by all of them and many friends. Both of their families built MacDill Air Field, Bayshore Blvd and paved many of the roads throughout Tampa.
They were both baptized in the Hillsborough River and were avid attendees of the all night gospel sings in downtown Tampa in the 1960’s. Evelyn was also a history buff of movies and Tampa all her life even naming her daughter after two of her favorite movie stars; Brenda Joyce and Faye Emerson. She collected every newspaper article, letter and picture of every major event. She became friends with Sam Gibbons and got to meet Jimmy Carter when he was running for president. When President Kennedy came to Tampa, she photographed him as he waved to her while turning into Al Lopez Field.
At the first birthday of the new Streetcar System in Tampa, Evelyn and Henry were honored by Jack Harris: Henry for being the last original streetcar driver in Tampa in 1946; and Evelyn for photographing him operating the streetcar. She was also honored by having her picture taken with mayor Pam Iorio, whom her daughter had attended school with. In the late 1970’s, Evelyn worked as a security guard in downtown Tampa at the dark brown building which was the only modern skyscraper in Tampa at the time.
Evelyn and her daughter, Brenda, began writing a book about her family history here in Tampa in 2010 and now Brenda will complete it entitled, “Love and Life from a Hot Tampa Streetcar!”
Evelyn and Henry had three children; Henry M. Goff, Jr., H. Glenn Goff and Brenda Faye Goff which were her life. Evelyn was the wife of a Master Sergeant and Boy Scout Master, with two Boy Scouts whose uniforms she kept starched and creased. She was extremely loving and fiercely protective. She raised her children to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Both Glenn and Brenda were born on President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and Henry Jr. was born on President Washington’s birthday. She is also survived by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The family business called Weed Eater Mowers, was run by her brother in later years. After Sears bought the name, it was changed to Spivey Mowers. Evelyn lived in the same house for 51 years and will be greatly missed by all that knew and loved her.
There will be a visitation on Saturday, November 29th, 2014 from 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM at Sunset Funeral Home, 11005 N. US Highway 301, Thonotosassa, Florida 33592. Graveside service will follow at 12:30 in Sunset Memory Gardens.
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