Goehner Facts given at the Reunion at Warm Beach
b y Diana Weedman  7-22-2011

I became a member of the Goehner family 44 years ago and I slowly learned the names in the family, but I have continued, at times, to be confused.  When I took on the job of working on the family list, it was mainly to help give me a way to get the family into an organized format that I can quickly look at as a 'cheat sheet' when I can't remember a name.  I had so much fun doing this.  I had delightful phone and e-mail conversations with at least one person from each branch of the family.  I found out that Alvina and her granddaughter Heidi had worked on a family list several years ago.  Lisa sent me a copy and it became the skeleton that I started building on.  When I called Florella, it was right before Glenn passed away, and she referred me to her grandson Carl, who has done a lot of work on ancestry.com.  He was able to fill in and confirm some dates for me for his branch of the family as well as others when he gave me access to his work on ancestry.com.  I tried to verify all the dates, but I am sure I have made mistakes. Just remember that I did not make up any dates, so someone must have given them to me.  I know the Goehner family much better than Sig does now, and maybe better than many of you. 

You are all members of the Goehner family.  The Goehners are strong, the Goehners are resilient, the Goehners are survivors and the Goehners are 'laughers'.  There are many families that are not 'laughers', but you are 'laughers' and I have loved that.  I have gained a lot of appreciation for the Goehners as I worked on this document.  Many of your lives have not been easy, but you have been strong and you have been resilient and you have survived what life threw at you and you are still 'laughers'.  Of the 10 children of Fredric and Christina, only 3 are still living: Ida, Edna and Walt.  And they are all strong and they are all resilient and they are all survivors and they are still 'laughers'.  Beginning with the third generation, the generation of Sig and Don and Delbert, seven of your babies have died at birth or shortly after.  Two of your young adults have died by the age of 20, and three more have died from age 30 to 50. But you are still strong and you are still resilient and you have survived heartbreaking events and you are still 'laughers'.  Eleven of the members of this family still living are widows or widowers,  but they are strong and they are resilient and they have survived and they are still 'laughers'.  There have been divorces in the family that caused much heartbreak but you have been strong and you have been resilient and you have survived and you are still 'laughers'. From the first child of Fredric and Christina, Christian, born in 1908- 103 years ago- to the latest child born July 5 of this year, 257 babies have been born in the Goehner bloodline.  And because you are also prolific, many more will be born in the years to come.  You are all members of the Goehner family and you are all strong and you are all resilient and you are all survivors and you must always be 'laughers'.

Contact Diana or Duane for more specific Goehner information that Diana discovered in her search.