Retired soil conservationist, Larry Dwayne Goff, 78, of Buchanan, Tennessee, left the loving arms of his wife Friday morning, July 1, 2022, in their home to achieve his ultimate destination with his Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, after an aggressive battle with rare cancer.
Larry loved God, whom he met as a junior in college, his family, his wonderful neighbors, his golf and fishing buddies, and his beloved Sunday School class. He was born Wednesday, October 20, 1943, in Henderson County, Tennessee, to the late Porter Rhuel Goff and the late Annie Myrtle Fortner Goff. He was reared in Cedar Grove, Tennessee, and graduated from Trezevant High School in Trezevant, Tennessee, in 1961, where he played both football and baseball. He and the former Beth Akins, of Trezevant, were married at First Baptist Church Trezevant Sunday, September 6, 1964. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
After a short stint of teaching agriculture at his alma mater in Trezevant, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, now Natural Resources Conservation Service. Larry worked in Jackson, Tennessee, Dresden, Tennessee, Dover, Tennessee, Tazewell, Virginia, Wilmington, North Carolina, Marion, Virginia, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The last nine years of his career were as liaison with the Poultry-Water Quality Consortium based in Atlanta, Georgia, from his office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where his responsibilities were nationwide.
Larry and Beth were blessed with two daughters. They attended numerous Baptist churches over the years, where he served as deacon, Sunday School teacher, usher, security, and various committees.
An avid sports fan, Larry refereed high school football for 20 years in Virginia and Tennessee. He enjoyed golf, fishing, church league softball, and all spectator sports. He and his wife traveled to all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico.
Larry is survived by his wife of 57 years, Beth Akins Goff, of Buchanan, Tennessee; his two daughters: Angie Sheek, of Elizabethton, Tennessee, and Kelly (Trevor Miller) Myren, of Chattanooga, Tennessee; one sister: Patti Goff (Tom) Morris, of Fayetteville, Georgia; six grandchildren: Victoria Brinkley, Miranda Sheek, Julia-Karnan Sheek, Alex (Addison) Myren, Elliana Myren, and John Spencer Myren; and two great-grandchildren: Isabella Wagner and Aurora Bostian.
Arrangements are being handled by Ridgeway Funeral Home, 201 Dunlap St/PO Box 788, Paris, Tennessee, 38242. Visitation will be Tuesday, July 5, 2022, from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Ridgeway Funeral Home. The funeral service will be Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at 2:00 pm at Ridgeway Funeral Home with Dr. Trent Bullock, Milton Peale, and Dale Gallimore officiating.
Serving as pallbearers will be Alex Myren, John Spencer Myren, Leon Rogers, Donald Dotson, John T. Harris, and Mike Zeman. Named as honorary pallbearers are members of the Gospel Servants Sunday School class at FBC Paris.
Burial will be in Hickory Flat Cemetery in Cedar Grove, Tennessee.
Memorials may be made to the University of Tennessee at Martin Agriculture Program, in memory of Larry Goff (1965 Graduate), University of Tennessee at Martin, Office of Development, 328 Admin. Building, Martin, Tennessee 38238.