There Is No Death,He/She Lives On
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MEMORIAL SERVICE Wcffcrsou ~oss November 3, 1907 -July 29, 1992 2:00 PM August 29, 1992 First Baptist Church San Angelo, Texas ORDER OF WORSHIP THE LORD IS MY LIGHT ". The Lord is my light, and my salvation, whom then shall I fear . " Psalm 2 7 Prelude ... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .... .... Janet Vaught Hymn 8 . "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" Scripture and Prayer . Pastor Psalm 27: 1-6 Psalm 84: 1-4, 9-12 'Jesus Paid It All" ........... Arranged Joseph Martin Sanctuary Choir Hymn 330 ''Amazing Grace'' Remembrances of Dallas Goss . Pastor Deuteronomy 31 :8 Hymn 334 .... .... "Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine" Responsive Reading 67 4 . Praise and Adoration "Hallelujah" from Messiah . George Frederic Handel Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra Sermon Pastor Benediction . Pastor "The Lord Is My Light" . Frances Allitsen Dallas Goss, tenor; Rowena Goss, piano Radio Broadcast, First Baptist Church, San Angelo Recorded by Phillip Earhart, 1972 Immediately following the service, the family will receive guests in the church parlor. Jerold R. McBride, Th.D., Pastor Lyndel Vaught, Minister of Music Janet Vaught, Organist Linda Bratcher, Pianist The Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra of The First Baptist Church A Biography of a Life Dallas Jefferson Goss was born on November 3, 1906 in Lillie, Union Parish, Louisiana. He was the first-born son of Charles Evans and Nancy Nelson Goss, a pioneer farming family who determined early in their married life to give their children the best education they could afford and to instill in them a strong religious faith and a love for music. They never wavered from this conviction despite years of hardship and economic struggle. They had four other children: Annie Pearl, Alma Frances Odom, a pianist and teacher who lived many years in San Angelo, and Nelson Lafayette, all of whom are deceased. The youngest child, Irma Ruth Szabo, resides with her husband A. J. Szabo in Lafayette, Louisiana. Dallas attended public school in Lillie and, in order to complete high school, he rode his horse twelve miles a day - rain or shine - to nearby Spearsville. He was the first male student to major in music at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in Ruston where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and earned the Outstanding Student award in 1932. After graduation, Dallas was hired to develop and teach the first public music program in Ruston. Summers were spent conducting "Singing School" in churches all over northern Louisiana and working long hours helping his parents harvest crops on the family farm. In 1933 he guided his high school vocal ensembles to top honors in a state-wide contest at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. The attention he received there led to a full teaching fellowship at L.S.U., where he completed degrees for both the Bachelor and Master of Music. His voice teacher was the eminent baritone, Pasquale Amato, who was the frequent partner of Enrico Caruso on the world's leading operatic stages. In addition to singing in university choral groups, Dallas performed leading roles in L.S .U. opera productions including that of Don Jose in "Carmen". The rehearsal accompanist was Rowena Doss from Weatherford, Texas, who also had received a full scholarship for a Master's degree program in piano performance. The two met and fell in love at first sight. They married on March 16, 1935. Dallas and Rowena lived in West Monroe, Louisiana from 1936-1944. During these years he headed the Voice and Choral Department at Northeast Louisiana Junior College, a branch of Louisiana State University, and served as Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church. The two spent their summers traveling the state as an evangelistic music team and attending master classes in choral music across the country. During this time two children were born: a daughter, Susan Marie, now Susan Charles, who is a professional singer in the Chicago area and a member of the voice faculty at the Music Center of the North Shore in Winnetka, Illinois, and a son, Charles Houston, who died tragically on January 27, 1973. It was a blow from which his father never recovered. After being drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 38 and serving during W .W . II as a weapons instructor, Dallas moved his family to San Angelo, Texas, where he began a new career as a general insurance agent. He managed an agency of his own until 1972, when he sold his interest to Fields-Stewart and Associates and worked for them until his retirement five years later. Dallas maintained that the deciding factor for choosing this area of West Texas was its beautiful rivers and Lake Nasworthy, which gave him much pleasure throughout his life as an avid fisherman. He was to become a life-long advocate of San Angelo's religious, civic and cultural life, serving as Minister of Music of the First Baptist Church from 1946-1957, as well as teaching Sunday School, serving as deacon, and singing faithfully in the choir. He was a lifetime member of the Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Kiwanis Club and American Legion; a president of the West Texas Game and Fish Association; president and long- time secretary of the Concho Bass Club; and a chairman of the Twin Mountain District of Boy Scouts of America. He belonged to the Philharmonic Society from 1947-1991, was a member of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and an enthusiastic supporter of the San Angelo Symphony. In all their years together, Dallas and Rowena, his partner in life and in music, traveled extensively, giving joint recitals for churches, service clubs, and musical organizations. They kept close ties with their dearly-loved parents and families in Louisiana and Texas. Some of their happiest and most cherished times were spent gathering together during the summers and holidays at the Goss farm in Tallulah and the Doss family ranch in Weatherford. In later years, despite many serious illnesses, Dallas continued to give energetically of his time to his family and friends and to all his activities - whenever he wasn't on the lake fishing! In March he had sung at the Texas Federation of Music Clubs Convtntion, and as he was driving home to his final destination on July 29th, Rowena heard him singing phrases from his next church solo: " His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me' '. Dallas is survived by his wife Rowena and daughter Susan; his sister Ruth Goss Szabo and her husband A. J. Szabo, their children Robert, John, and Rebecca Szabo and their families; the children of his deceased brother Nelson Goss: Nancy Naquin, Sandra Rachall, Sharon Sibley, and William (Bill) Goss and their families; his brother-in-law James Doss and his wife Dorothy Doss, their children Nancy Knight, Jim and John Doss and their families. IN MEMORIAM DALLAS JEFFERSON GOSS In one swift stroke, a musical voice in our church and community has been silenced. An incredibly masterful singer has been taken from us. We feel perplexed, sorrowful, and strangely empty by his absence. Our initial response is a sense of critical defeat. There is a central problem with such thinking. There is no defeat. True, the voice of Dallas Goss is stilled, but his music continues. His music goes on in the hearts of all who heard and knew him. The hope and risk that goes with being a musician can be summed up in his life and music. Through his years as a local businessman, Dallas never abdicated his strategic role as a musician. He believed that musical integrity and quality performance reflect the caliber of life in church and city. Music that falls behind the curve of excellence retards progress and stifles development. It is not surprising that Dallas, with the middle name of Jefferson, would be an example of independence. He was not a description of independence; he was a recital of its litany and theology. With an extraordinary independence of mind, he was willing to challenge anyone's musical orthodoxy. Music with a primitive grasp of value caused Dallas to be relentlessly intense. Music lacking integrity was a sloppy excess and an aural immorality, endemic of a faltering society. For music of character and merit, Dallas was deeply appreciative. A beautiful melody, a poignant performance, whether magnificent symphony or simple song, vividly evoked gracious and broad responses. Dallas Goss was a fascinating musical and personal portrait. He was energetic and colorful. He was interesting and complex. He was diligent and meticulous. He was engaging and caring. He was a subtle study in the aging process. While many people become obscure as the years progress, Dallas, fueled by the excitement of life, became more visible. He was a singer with a remarkable gift. He was a musician with a sophisticated mind. He was a music minister with a vivid concern. He was a friend with an extraordinary touch. Grant him rest, 0 Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him ... " W. Lyndel Vaught, Minister of Music First Baptist Church, San Angelo, Texas July 30, 1992 I ., SHE LIVES ON! 1·2 -2 "Jesus said unto her, ' I am the resurrection, 7 and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shal 1 NEVER die ,_;,~ ~ ' t e,;l, 4 ~ .,k, ~ ~ . , , ~~ ~ 1r, -~~ ~ C / • -,-~~x I. believeth in me, though he were he 1 ive . i C K,e .;l; lo- I I 1 . .-::, /.. v ....i. f-. ~~~;~=)[:~;:tPaul ) 11 I know WHOM I have believed and am persuaded that HE is a~le t o keep that which I have committed unto HIM agains t that day!" ...,..,.___~ __ _ _,_,O • Jesus) "Whosoever there£ ore shal 1 confess me before men, I will confess also before my Father which is in heaven." ".