Jeanne Drusilla (Goff) Bentley, a former resident of Evanston, passed away into the arms of the Lord on Friday, April 9, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Jeanne was born Oct. 6, 1950, in Corpus Christi, Texas, to William H. Goff and Bettie (McCandless) White. She previously resided in Rock Island and Pasadena, Texas, and moved to Evanston in 1983, where she worked as a nurse for many years at Evanston Regional Hospital. She also resided for many years after that in Grand Junction, Colorado, where she worked at La Villa Grande Care Center. After living briefly in Delta, Colorado, she moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico.
She married her first husband, Michael Barouch, in 1969, and together they had two children, Angela Michelle (Barouch) Nielsen and Damon Keith Barouch.
She later married her current husband, Kenneth S. Bentley, in March 1987, and they have remained happily married for 33 years.
Jeanne adored her pets — especially her cat, Otis — and her goats. She especially loved caring for babies while working for the hospital in Evanston. She enjoyed riding horses with her good friend, Jutta Laesch, and driving absolutely anywhere with her closest cousin, Judy Brewster, who was like a sister to her. She was known and remembered as a kind and compassionate woman who stood up for others and an extremely caring nurse who would go above and beyond to care for her patients.
She was a wonderful wife who was adored by her husband through every phase of their life together and he is looking forward to being with her in heaven where she will be free of her earthly burdens. She was a proud mother who doted on and was supportive of her children and her grandchildren, who called her Nana. Her daughter, Angie, and son, Damon, will miss teasing her relentlessly and the sweetness she bestowed on them regardless — after a quick smack on the arm of course.
Angie will especially miss the road trips to Texas, where they loved to listen to music and decided that the song “Unwell” by Matchbox 20 was their song and she would have a blast listening to “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, dramatically doing the drum solo on the steering wheel. She was a Fundamental Baptist, who loved the Lord with all her heart and soul and was a member of the Landmark Baptist Church in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Jeanne is survived by her husband, Ken Bentley; her daughter, Angela Nielsen; her son, Damon Barouch; her stepsons, Jeramy, Christopher and Spencer Bentley; her brothers, Jim, Johnny and Jerry Goff; her stepsister, Audrey Burns; and her grandchildren, Alexander, Sydney, Brandon, Chloe, Andrew, Cody, Brayston, Scarlett, Evan and Millie.
She was preceded in death by her parents, William Goff and Bettie White.
There will be celebration of life ceremony scheduled for a later date.
