Mary Frances Goddard

Mary Frances Goddard peacefully passed from this earth on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, surrounded by her loving family. Mary Frances was predeceased by her husband Neil Goddard, her parents, Joseph and Mary Johnston, her brothers Earl and Howard Johnston, and a number of aunts, uncles, and cousins. She is survived by three daughters and sons-in-law: Sharon Edmundson (Andrew), Sandy Malkin (Bradley) and Susan Bailey (Robert), and five beloved grandchildren – Joseph Edmundson and wife Ashley, James Edmundson, Benjamin Malkin, and Lindsay Malkin.

Mary Frances was born in August of 1938 in Dekalb County, Georgia. She became a Marine wife when she and Neil married in 1960, and subsequently spent time living in Albany, Georgia, Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Quantico, Virginia. After Neil retired, North Carolina became home. Mary Frances worked as a floral designer in Jacksonville, Quantico, and Fuquay Varina. Her true calling, however, was as a volunteer. Over the years she enthusiastically volunteered with her church, the Girl Scouts, the Quantico Thrift Shop, and other humanitarian organizations.

In 2001, concerned residents from several local churches came together to form the Fuquay Varina Emergency Food Pantry. Mary Frances got involved and quickly became a leader in the organization, serving as the co-director of the Pantry until 2023. She often said that the Pantry was her calling. She loved her volunteers and clients equally and put in many hours a week to make sure people had food. She also was an active member of her church, Fuquay Varina Baptist. She and Neil loved to travel, and of course loved their many pets over the years.

The family is very grateful to the caring staff of the ICU at WakeMed Cary Hospital for their excellent care and guidance during Mary Frances’ brief illness.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation in her memory to the Fuquay Varina Emergency Food Pantry or Fuquay Varina Baptist Church.

Services for Mary Frances are as follows: Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 30, 2024, from 2-4 PM at O’Quinn Peebles Phillips Funeral Home in Lillington, North Carolina. Funeral services will be held on Monday, July 1,2024, at 11:00 AM at Fuquay Varina Baptist Church, with internment to follow at Wake Chapel cemetery.

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