Patsy Eisinger

1930 - 2025

Patsy Ann Cady Eisinger, 95, passed away December 9, at the Hospice House of North Idaho. Patsy was born to William and Marguerite Cady February 16, 1930 in Pocatello, Idaho. After moving to Gooding, Patsy attended school from first grade through high school where she met her sweetheart Gordon Eisinger. She was Honored Queen in the local Job's Daughters chapter, worked on the high school newspaper, played the piano for church services, was an usher at the Schubert Theater, taught piano lessons to numerous students, and became an excellent seamstress sewing her own clothes.

Pat attended Stephen's College, an all girls school, in Columbia, Missouri, majoring in fashion design. After she graduated, she returned to Gooding to marry Gordon. She designed and sewed her wedding dress and was married September 3, 1950 in the Thompson Chapel. They were married for 69 years. After Gordon left the Air Force and the landscape business, they returned home and spent all but the last seven years, living on the farm north of Gooding. Pat enjoyed gardening and would go nuts if the cows got out and trampled her flowers or lawn. She would spend hours harvesting and canning pickles, beans, corn, strawberry jam, and every fruit they could pick in the Hagerman orchards.

Pat went back to school to get her teaching degree and began teaching in Wendell and then taught in all three schools in Gooding. Pat's passion was college-prep English at Gooding High School. Her love for reading was evident in her teaching, assigning novels such as The Iliad and the Odyssey, 1984, Animal Farm and Romeo and Juliet followed by robust discussions of each story. She was the Aca-Decca advisor and spent many hours after school prepping her team for competition. She even got Gordon to volunteer his math skills to prepare the students. She was thrilled to bring home the winning trophy with her students from the state competition. Pat also helped sew costumes and design stage sets for the school plays. Her favorite play was "Annie Get Your Gun," making many costumes for the cast. She invited the Magic Valley Orchestra to accompany the music for the play with fellow teacher, Larry Gee, as the conductor.

Pat helped many young women with their 4-H and Idaho Wool Growers sewing projects. Many girls asked her to sew their prom dresses as well. Pat even sewed her daughter's wedding dress with hundreds of tiny hand-sewn seed pearls. For several years, she would purchase and donate a sewing machine to a deserving student who wanted to continue with sewing. She also was interested in making quilts. As she perfected her craft, she began teaching weekly quilting lessons to groups. Many of her quilts were donated for various fund-raising auctions in Gooding. Her family also has a variety of quilts that she made for them.

Pat was known locally as the "Goose Lady." Her concrete goose statue would proudly model different outfits that she had made for everyone to see from the front step. Her grandchildren loved to visit Nana's house to dress Goose each morning. The school bus would slow down every morning so the littles could see Goose in her outfit. People would drive out to their house just to see what Goose was wearing that day, which made Pat smile. Pat made a variety of costumes including a Gooding Senator cheerleader, Batman, Mrs. Santa, a golfer, a pumpkin, and many more. Goose was the talk of the town with her stylin' clothes.

After she retired from teaching at Gooding High School, Pat didn't like staying at home and decided to go back to work part-time at the Gooding Alternative School. She loved working with the students and believed she made a difference in their futures. Many would come back and share their success stories with her. Pat loved giving back to her students and her community. The hallways of the schools still echo her famous command to all students: "Don't run amok!" We hope she is now defying her order and running amok herself.

Pat and Gordon moved from Gooding to Coeur d'Alene in 2018 to their new home in a senior community. With her hobbies of reading and sewing, Pat had a special sewing room created just for her and immediately got busy making quilts. After losing her vision to Macular Degeneration this last year, she taught her daughter the skills of quilting so they could complete a quilt together that Pat had begun several months before, making sure all the points matched.

Pat was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon; her son, John Cady Eisinger; her grandson, John Gordon Eisinger and her great-granddaughter Miyoko Marie Nakata. Survivors include son, Bill (Deb) Eisinger; daughter, Becky (Dave) Olin; grandsons, Dale (Embla) Eisinger, Christopher (Carolina) Olin; granddaughter, Katie (Greg) Nakata; and great-grandson, George Nakata. At Pat's request there will be no service. The family asks that any donations be made to Hospice of North Idaho in Coeur d'Alene, the North Canyon Medical Center in Gooding, or the Hagerman Valley Historical Society.