Maynard L. Good, 85, of Elkhart
, died Mon., Aug. 19, 2013 at Elkhart
General Hospital Elkhart to Jacob H. and Ada Goshen
Maynard was a memorable, musical and missional man. He knew a lot of people. Having grown up in the area and having many early sales and delivery jobs, he was often a point of reference for the rest of the family when meeting new people. His gift for salesmanship continued after he settled down at Spring Valley Ranch to grow and sell fruit, cider, sweet corn, potatoes and other produce. He also had a mechanical bent and founded a business fabricating silage bag stuffers and grader boxes. Most recently, he spent summers at the
Maynard was born into a family that loved to sing and
make music. One of his first purchases
was a guitar that he taught himself to play.
He sang in quartets and choirs when he was younger and was chorister for
Prairie Street
Maynard was deeply involved in the life of the church as
a Torch Bearer sponsor and Sunday School teacher, He also had a deep concern for the unchurched
and community. He was a founder and the
first president of Church Community Services. He supported MCC through service
time in Puerto Rico in his 20’s and hosted
trainees from other countries to live and work on the farm. He promoted the
CROP walk for Church World Services. He
initiated a Saturday evening program for area children who often passed the
church but never came in.
Maynard was a visionary man of simple faith. He suffered a major stroke while resting the
afternoon the blueberry patch closed for the season and passed peacefully two
days later. He is now with Jesus and we
will miss him. His family thanks you for
your support and prayers.
A Life Remembered - By Steve
There is a lot to remember from 58 years of having a dad
like Maynard Good. He was “part chip off
the old block” and part “they broke the mould after they were done” kind of
guy. Stepping into his crocs the morning
after getting back to Elkhart reminded me that as “dad,” he was always sort of
a half size larger than life and no one could ever quite fill his shoes.
Throughout my younger years and even more recently, I was
always told, “You look just like your dad.”
While I could see and sense the resemblance, it always struck me with a mixture
of pride, wonder and anxiety. Was I
really, “just like” him? Well, not
exactly, God has created each of us uniquely.
One of the things I learned late in life about myself is that I am a “learner and communicator.” I doubt that Dad ever took the “strength finders” test to analyze his personal strengths. However, as I reflected on what he was like as a person and father, I can now see those two strengths in his life too. You did not have to know him for long to have him start telling you about something he learned about recently.
Although he
grew up in the city, he bolted from its shadow as soon as possible to work on
the Ed Miller farm east of town. He was
a product of the “war years” educational system that was low on resources and
let its students stay in school only half days as long as they could maintain
at least a B average. His motto would
have been like Mark Twain’s who said, “I never let my schooling get in the way
of my education.” As a self employed
dad, he taught me most of what I knew about farming and hard work.
He had a love for the land, the soil and the woods. He loved to work it and feel it become productive under his hand. To him, farming was not a job, it was a way of life and a lifestyle. When he first started farming on his own, he once told me that he would wake up before sunrise and just wait for the sun to come up so he could go out and work. Opportunity energized him and that is how he lived his life.
He loved trying new things and meeting new people. There were never any strangers in the room, just people he hadn’t met yet. Those strengths served him well on his early bread and apple routes and farm markets; selling everything from stocks to specialty farm equipment, even blueberries.
He had a love for the land, the soil and the woods. He loved to work it and feel it become productive under his hand. To him, farming was not a job, it was a way of life and a lifestyle. When he first started farming on his own, he once told me that he would wake up before sunrise and just wait for the sun to come up so he could go out and work. Opportunity energized him and that is how he lived his life.
He loved trying new things and meeting new people. There were never any strangers in the room, just people he hadn’t met yet. Those strengths served him well on his early bread and apple routes and farm markets; selling everything from stocks to specialty farm equipment, even blueberries.
He was an optimist, visionary and pioneer. Seldom discouraged, he was always thinking about new ideas and ways of doing things. If it seemed remotely possible and piqued his interest, he was ready and willing to try it out. If it didn’t work out, it was not hard for him to find the next thing to start thinking about.
His love for the Lord, the church and music, coupled with his leadership gifts made him a natural worship leader and encourager of others to sing along. He taught us kids to sing at the same time we learned to talk and attempted to mold us into a singing Von Trapp family. He even risked bringing the first guitar into Prairie Street Mennonite, when it was still considered an instrument of the world.
Needless to say, he
taught and instilled many of these same attributes into all of us as his sons
and daughters, each in a different way.
Our lives will always be part of this godly legacy, product of his life
and how he lived it.
