Lilyan Goode Rogers

Lilyan Goode Rogers (January 31, 1946 – June 3, 2022) passed away peacefully in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.


Lilyan was born in Heerlen, The Netherlands to Elizabeth/Lies Nievelstein-Goode and R.V. Goode. Their family story began when her father's Army unit liberated her mother's town from Nazi occupation on her mother's birthday in 1944. Lilyan traveled to the United States as an infant with her mother after the end of World War II in Europe, arriving at Ellis Island on the USNS Goethals on May 26, 1946. They traveled further by train to Beaumont, Texas, where her father welcomed them to their new home in Texas. Throughout her life, Lilyan was very proud of her Dutch heritage, maintained close ties to friends and family there, and fulfilled a dream in learning Dutch & returning to live there off and on for the last 35 years of her life.


Lilyan graduated from South Park High School in Beaumont, Texas in 1964. The first in her family to graduate from college, she graduated from the University of Houston in 1968 with a degree in Political Science. She graduated from the University of Houston Law School in a class with five women. She lived in Washington, D.C. & worked for the U.S. General Services Administration after law school. When she was ready to return to Houston to be near family, she went to work at Tenneco, where she worked until she retired.

At Tenneco, she met the love of her life, Bill Rogers. Lilyan & Bill shared a love of travel, spending time with family & friends, and playing cards and Rummikub. When they both retired, they split their time between Lake Conroe, Texas & Hoensbroek, The Netherlands, where they spent much time with her extended family. For 30 years, they traveled throughout Europe and North Africa, often making lifelong friends along the way.

Lilyan was predeceased by her beloved husband Bill in 2015, her dear mother Lies in 2014, and her father R.V. in 1983. She was only recently predeceased by her aunt and godmother, Mia Kemper-Nievelstein, in February 2022. She is survived by her younger sister, Mary Goode Northcutt & her husband Jerry of New Castle, Colorado; her niece Jennifer Best, husband Cooper & children Aaron & Addison of New Castle, Colorado; nephew Mickey Northcutt & partner Ben Nettles; step-daughter Suzi Thrall (& Jeff) of Chicago, their children Jennifer & J.T. & their families; step-daughter Sherri Johnson (& Don) of Houston, their children Stephen and Kevin & their families; cousin Hanneke Kemper of Diest, Belgium, and her daughters Irma and Sophie and their families, also of Belgium.

She is also survived by her nearly lifelong friends the deKort family of The Netherlands, who are more family than friends. She was so happy to spend so much time with many cousins, extended family & friends in Beaumont, Houston & The Woodlands, Texas, and in The Netherlands, Belgium and Australia.

Lilyan's family wishes to thank the staff at Renew Roaring Fork Assisted Living & Memory Care for their kindness and care for Lilyan in her final years.


A memorial service will be held at American Heritage Funeral Home (10710 Veterans Memorial Drive, Houston, TX) on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at 11:00am. Following the service, Lilyan will be buried alongside her husband Bill, and very near to her parents R.V. & Elizabeth/Lies Goode at Houston National Cemetery.
A memorial will be held in The Netherlands at a later date.

Donations are welcome in Lilyan's memory to Some Other Place (www.someotherplacebeaumont.com) or to the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center at Harvard Medical School (www.neurodiscovery.harvard.edu).