Margaret Short Goodman

Margaret Short Goodman was a mother, educator, proponent of love and fairness, and follower of Christ. She was born in Brooklyn to Margaret Heidelberg Short Landry (d) and Gerald Short (d) but moved to New Orleans when she was five so she considered herself a New Orleanian through and through. She loved the Saints, grilled oysters, and a trip to Canal Villere as much as she loved her son, teaching English, and All Saints' Episcopal Church, River Ridge. She married her husband, Philip Goodman, twice, and had her only child Kevin. She is survived by Kevin M. Goodman, Kevin's husband Anton P. Goodman and her brother Bill Short. Through them, she has been blessed with extended family including grand-nieces and nephews and the unexpected opportunity to have grandchildren. She dedicated her life to education beginning her career as an English teacher at Riverdale High School in Jefferson, Louisiana then moving to Grace King High School in Metairie. She was proud of the fact that Ellen DeGeneres was a graduate of Grace King and would always say while enjoying Ellen's talk show, "there's our Grace King graduate." She moved to administration becoming the English Consultant of Jefferson Parish where she was thrilled to develop curriculums for the large migration of Vietnamese and Honduran immigrants during the 70s. She loved to reflect upon going before the board to defend the performances of Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar and of the several times she called upon her favorite priest, the best mechanic, and the head of a needlepoint guild, to travel to rural Louisiana to keep I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings on the shelves of school libraries. She spent her weekends worshipping and hanging out at All Saints' Episcopal Church, River Ridge. Her ministries included serving as the director of Sunday School, as Senior Warden - 4 times – La Bonne Cuisine Cookbook President and as Search Committee Chair. In addition to reading, she loved doing needlepoint, eating out on Friday nights with the ladies of the evening, and going to movies, often seeing three to four films on her day off. She was a big fan of the music of Jane Olivor and delighted in attending as many Rod Stewart concerts as possible. She gutted and rebuilt her home after Katrina's levee failures thanks to her good and generous friend Dan Massa. And, after retirement from the school system, Margaret continued to substitute teach at Ella Dolhonde Elementary School and Metairie Academy. As her body shifted and her short-term memory faded, she moved to Chicago in 2016 to live with her son and his husband Anton. Through Anton and his friends, she got to celebrate birthdays and special days with incredible Indonesian flair. She also got to celebrate grandparent's day with her grandchildren Sadie Ellen Brandt-Mysen and Asher Jeffrey Brandt-Mysen and hang out with the moms - Andrea and Rene. She also enjoyed sharing a cocktail with the very people from Chicago who travelled down post-Katrina to rebuild New Orleans. Margaret was always grateful to love, to live, and to advocate for what was right. A celebration of life and resurrection, with the internment of ashes, will be held at All Saints' River Ridge, Louisiana on Tuesday, November 24, 10am. In lieu of flowers, Kevin and Anton request donations for the mission and ministry of her beloved church - All Saints' Episcopal Church, 100 Rex Driver, River Ridge, Louisiana, 70123. Arrangements by Cremation Society of Illinois, 773-281-5058 or www.cremation-society.com.