City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Mary Lou Goodrich
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 93.
Died 03/06/2025.
The youngest daughter of Henry Lewis Miller and Mary Huntzinger Miller, Mary Lou was named after both of her parents. She valued family foremost, and joked that with a double Christian name like Mary Lou, she was clearly destined to live down south.
Born during the depression, and only 7 when World War II started, she remembered the scrap drives; her brother running away to join the military; and the pride of our country.
An avid lover of big band music during the jazz age, teenage Mary Lou danced away many nights at concerts held in Deer Lake, PA. She played piano until she was 92.
In 1950 she was the first person in her family to attend college, graduating with a teacher’s degree from Westchester University in Pennsylvania.
Mary Lou married Haven Warner Goodrich of Battleground, Washington in 1954, meeting him while they both worked at the ALCOA plant in Cressona, Pennsylvania. Beginning in 1957, the young couple welcomed three children into the family: Teri Lynn, Robert Warner (Bob), and David Alan. With Warner’s work at ALCOA, the family moved frequently, including time in Australia.
She continued teaching as a substitute, and at home. When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, Mary Lou encouraged her 3 young children to write their impressions of this momentous occasion - a teacher/mother wanting to capture a lifelong memory through a homework assignment. Bob found the assignment appealing as he had already decided (and later became) an astronomer.
Mary Lou and Warner retired to Raleigh in 1982. These were supposed to be carefree days, but Warner died of mesothelioma in 1985. Under her leadership, the family established a scholarship for graduating seniors in Warner’s old high school.
A lifelong Methodist, who sang in the choirs at many churches, Mary Lou was active in Sunday School, her UMW Circle, both Stephen and Martha Ministries, and volunteered as a receptionist at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in Raleigh. Mary Lou also served as a leader of The Grand Age Club.
While serving on the Missions Committee at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, she volunteered to “observe” another church’s sponsorship of the resettlement of three political refugees from Burundi. She quickly overachieved, taking Dominique, Emmanuel, and Gaspard under her wing, and becoming integral to their new life in the United States. She would say that this was her purpose for coming to Raleigh.
In 2017, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She fought hard for the next eight years, ultimately succumbing to heart failure. She died peacefully with Tausi Brooks, Teri and David by her side.
She leaves behind Teri (John Kistle), Bob (Petra Goodrich), David (Vanessa Manuel), and Dominique Langira, Cynthia (19), and Noah (10). She loved her extended family, including her nephews and nieces: Laurie Miller (Vince Mallow), Gail Shirey, Barbara Welch (David), Dianne Bensinger, Bob Shirey (Pam), Bill Shirey (Nancy), Linda Schuett (Michael), Nancy Brown (Don) and all their children.
Mary Lou lived her life believing that if you were kind and tried to become a good person that that was enough. She did well at being good.
In lieu of flowers, Mary Lou requested that donations be made to one or both of these worthy causes:
- Wee Care: https://www.weecareinc.org/
- Multiple Myeloma Research Fund: give.unc.edu/tribute/goodrich
Wee Care is a program that provides free preschool education for economically disadvantaged children, It is based at Mary Lou’s church, Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, Raleigh, NC.
Mom’s oncologist, Dr. Sascha Tuchman at the University of North Carolina, has a foundation that supports his group's multiple myeloma research.
Both funds were selected by Mary Lou for her memorial tribute.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.