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Svoboda, Mrs. Virjean (James) Goldsmith
Mrs. Virjean (James) Goldsmith Svoboda, 73, passed away Nov. 1, 2011. Her wish was that there not be a church memorial service, but did consent to a viewing at the mortuary. The viewing will be at Messinger Mortuary, 7601 E. Indian School Rd., in Scottsdale, Ariz., from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7. Cremation will follow, with ashes to be interred in Tucson.
She was born outside Clarence, Iowa, on Dec. 20, 1937, to Marvin and Marie (Rowold) Goldsmith. After attending Clarence country and town schools, she graduated from Lowden High School in 1955. After attending AIC Business School in Davenport, she had several jobs, including private secretary to George Nissen (who invented the trampoline), president of Nissen Corporation.
In November 1961, she married James (Jim) Svoboda at the “Little Brown Church in the Vale” in Nashua. To this union was born a son, Joel, and a daughter, Sheryl. They would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Nov. 25. In March 1966, the family moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., where she held several jobs before retiring in 1998. In 1999, Jim and Virjean moved to Overgaard, Ariz., where she was residing at the time of her death.
She enjoyed fishing, camping, traveling (a trip to Japan, two trips to the Czech Republic and three weeks in Germany) and spending time on the computer and doing crossword puzzles. She was a 45-year member of the Scottsdale Congregational United Church of Christ.
She is survived by her husband, Jim of Overgaard, Ariz.; and son, Joel, daughter, Sheryl, and grandson, Peter, of Tucson, Ariz. Also surviving are her brother, Kent (Sharon) Goldsmith, sister, Barb (Ed) Archer, sister, Marla (Dave) Wiedenhoff, sister-in-law, Sharon, one uncle and many nieces, nephews and cousins, all of Iowa.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and her brother, Larry.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Virjean's name payable to the University of Arizona Foundation/Arizona Cancer Center and mail to 1515 N. Campbell Ave., PO Box 245013, Tucson, AZ 85724.
Published Nov. 6, 2011, in The Gazette
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