Louis P. Goke's Obituary
Louis P. Goke, age 100, of Germantown, TN, formerly of Platteville, WI, died June 22, 2013, in Germantown. He was born January 11, 1913, in Lima Township, Grant County, WI, to Ben J. and Eva E. (Markley) Goke. He graduated from Platteville High School in 1931 and received his Mining Engineering Diploma from the Wisconsin Mining School in 1934. From 1931 to 1934 he also served in Company W, Wisconsin National Guard. He then joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and was assigned to the U. S. Forest Service in Park Falls, WI. In 1937 he began working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Rock Island, IL, and in 1939 he transferred to the Corps of Engineers at Memphis, TN.Louis married Blanche Warren, formerly of Demopolis, AL, on June 7, 1940. Together they attended Southern University, College of Law, in Memphis. They graduated in 1943, and were admitted to the Tennessee Bar. From September 1943 to December 1945 he served in the U. S. Navy and was assigned to the USS Pensacola during the battle of Okinawa and in covering landings of occupation troops in northern Japan. In January 1946 he returned to employment at the Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, and retired as Assistant District Counsel in 1973. Their son, Louis Rodney, was born December 6, 1946.Louis was preceded in death by both his son “Rod” of Austin, TX, and his loving wife of 71 years in 2011; his parents; his brothers William and wife Frances, Edwin and wife Josephine, Robert and wife Leone; his sister Florence Speth; and his brother-in-law Harold “Hoot” Huttenburg.He is survived by his sister Ruth G. Huttenburg of Appleton/Onalaska, WI: many nieces, nephews, and cousins; devoted family friends Bob and Judith Craig of Germantown, and many friends and staff at The Village in Germantown.Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, 2013, at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN. The Reverend Sam Pace of Christ United Methodist Church will officiate. A visitation will be held from 1:30 p.m. until the time of the service.A Celebration of Life will also be held at The Village at Germantown, 7820 Walking Horse Circle, Germantown, TN, on Wednesday, on July 17, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. The Reverend William Spink , the Chaplin at The Village at Germantown, will officiate.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to the University of Wisconsin–Platteville Foundation, for the benefit of the College of Engineering (formally the Wisconsin Mining School), 1 University Plaza, Platteville, WI 53818 or at www.uwplatt.edu/foundation; SASHA Ministry, Inc. PO Box 38031, Germantown, TN, 38183; The Village at Germantown Foundation, 7820 Walking Horse Circle, Germantown, TN 38138; or a charity of choice. Online condolences may be made at www.memorialparkfuneralandcemetery.com.
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