Mary Goodrich
July 13, 1928 — March 1, 2024
Vernal
**PLEASE NOTE: This obituary is being placed on our website as a courtesy to the family. Blackburn Mortuary is not handling these services. **
Our wonderful mother Mary Pauline Eksund Goodrich, age 95, passed away on March 1, 2024, at the Uintah Care Center in Vernal Utah from causes incident to age. Mary was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 13, 1928, to Imanuel Sigvold and Cora Adella Eksund who were both of Norwegian decent. Mary was the youngest of seven children. She lived as a young girl in La Jolla, California, and then later in more than a dozen different homes in Utah before she graduated from Alterra High School in 1946. She was married to Robert Earl Hatch and was then widowed at a young age due to a tragic accident. She later married Wayne Goodrich on April 9, 1954, and they were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on March 6, 1961. Mary was an amazing mother to her four sons, and she also had a number of close, trusted friends. Mary was a devout follower of Jesus Christ and an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where she served in numerous stake and ward Relief Society callings. She also belonged to the Vernal Progressive Arts Club for many years. Mary contracted rheumatic fever as a young child and had a recurrence of it as an adult and hence had to face two open heart surgeries later in life to replace her mitral valve. Despite that she lived a long and meaningful life. Mary was known by her sons as sort of a genius when it came to parenting, meaning that almost nothing got past her. She knew how to handle our different personalities and how to bring out the best in us, but that doesn’t mean she was always easy on us. She taught us accountability and required us to find our own contingency plans. Mary is survived by her sons, Brent (Lilia Chavez) Hatch, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Barry (Marsha) Hatch, Mesa, Arizona; Greg (Tara) Goodrich, Vernal, Utah; and Jan (Cindy) Goodrich, Orem, Utah. She was preceded in death by her parents; and then by her husband Wayne Goodrich in 2003. A funeral service will be held in her honor this coming Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 12:00 noon in Vernal, Utah (Maeser Stake Center - 2745 West 1000 North) with a viewing beginning at 11:00 a.m. Burial will be held at the Vernal Memorial Park under the direction of the Hullinger Mortuary
