Lyda Ann Goldner

June 17, 1925 - July 29, 2015

Lyda Ann Goldner Obituary In Memory of Lyda Ann Goldner Ann passed away July 29, 2015, at Fairwood Retirement Village, in Spokane, Washington. She was born June 17, 1925 in San Marcos, Texas, to Charles Albert and Sarah Ethel (Lumpkin) Baylor. The family lived mostly in Texas but also briefly in Arizona, where Charles was an airplane mechanic. When Ann was a small child the family had hard times and she was blessed to be in the care of her Aunt Josie, a school teacher who was both loving and strict. They lived in the Shary Hotel in St. Paul, TX, where Ann remembered having fun playing and pretending in the grand ballrooms and on the majestic stairs. Ann graduated from South San Antonio High School where she participated in drama and was a majorette. After high school she worked as an operator for Bell Telephone Company and at Smockin�s Jewelry in downtown San Antonio. She met Loren (Larry) Dean Goldner in San Antonio where he was stationed with the U.S. Army Air Forces. They married on August 14, 1945 in Mt. Ayr, Iowa. Victory in the Pacific had been announced that day, and people everywhere were celebrating in the streets. After his military discharge Larry took a job with Swift & Co. and was sent to work in Freeport, Illinois, where they had their first child, Sharon Ann. They soon moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where their second child, Steven Jay, was born. Ann was a stay-at-home mom until her children were older, when she worked at Sears, Roebuck, and Company at the Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines. Over the years Larry was transferred with Swift & Co. to Watertown, SD, Naperville, IL, Grand Island, NE, San Antonio, TX, and Dumas, TX where he finally retired. Ann always said they had the most fun while living in Watertown where they developed a network of friends who loved to go dancing. After Larry�s death in 1992 Ann moved to southern California to live near her son. She remained there until February 24, 2015 when health issues required her to move to Spokane, where her daughter could oversee her care. After Ann moved to southern California her son coaxed her to become involved in the Senior Centers of various nearby communities where dances were held several times a week. Her love of ballroom dancing allowed her to make friends quickly and she soon had a serious dance partner and cherished friend, Charles Tedeschi, who treated her like a queen. They worked on committees to procure live music and expand opportunities for dancing seniors in the area around Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad, and Encinitas. They had fourteen fun years together until Charlie�s death. She was also fortunate to have the friendship of Michael Donnelly in her last years of dancing. Ann loved music. She played piano and organ and had a massive collection of sheet music and record albums. She enjoyed almost every style of music, but especially the Big Bands of the 1940�s. She was a huge fan of The Lawrence Welk Show and, more recently, Dancing With The Stars. Ann was very sensitive to justice and equality issues, and taught her children that discrimination was wrong. She supported John F. Kennedy�s campaign for President when many were rejecting him solely because he was Catholic. During the Vietnam War Ann was very vocal about the problems she saw with U.S. involvement and withstood criticism for her views. She was a champion of the underdog in most cases, and took the time to do research before drawing conclusions. She was the original extreme coupon and rebate queen, saving the family money by shopping the sales and using box tops and coupons that she had been saving ahead. Her husband was once heard to exclaim, �Please don�t save me any more money!� as the shelves were overflowing with sale items. Ann enjoyed hobbies such as sewing clothes for her children, crochet, embroidery, reading, and bridge. Even though she lived in many states and loved southern California, Ann always considered herself a �Texas girl.� She proudly displayed a painting of the Alamo in her home and was a descendant of two men who died at the Alamo. Ann was so proud of her grandsons, Justin and Darren, and shortly before her death, she was thrilled to meet her third grandson, Tyler, for the first time in 27 years. She also met her great-grandson, Harold, age three, for the first time. Ann is survived by her children: Sharon (Shari) DeBerg (Joe Troy), of Spokane, and Steven Goldner of Vista, CA; three grandsons, Justin DeBerg, Darren DeBerg, and Tyler Mason; and three great-grandchildren, Gloria DeBerg, Harold DeBerg, and Aliyah Cordova. She is also survived by five step-grandchildren and their families: Sean (Stephanie) Troy, Chris Troy, Ryan (Elaine Mast) Troy, Megan (Josh) Bombino, and Colin Troy. She leaves her last sister, Berta (Ken) Barker of Spring, TX, her sisters-in-law, Mary Goldner, of San Antonio, TX, and Doris Goldner of Des Moines, IA, and many Baylor and Goldner nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, six siblings, and two brothers-in-law. A private service will be held on Monday, August 3, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at the Washington State Veteran�s Cemetery Committal Shelter in Medical Lake, Washington. Arrangements are being handled by Heritage Funeral Home of Spokane. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer�s Association at www.alz.org. � To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Lyda, please visit our Tree Store. Read more Events JUL 29