Marilou Goodspeed

Marilou Pohl Goodspeed passed away on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Clark on Keller Lake in Grand Rapids, MI at the age of 99 after a long illness.

Born in Grand Rapids on August 3, 1925, she was the daughter of Howard and Helen Barrett Pohl. After attending Marywood Academy and Central High School, she was awarded a full scholarship to study violin at Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. Marilou married Harrison L. Goodspeed Jr., commonly known as Peter, on Dec. 2, 1944 in Grand Rapids. They had met at a tennis court when he was training for the military, and soon after they married, Peter, then a lieutenant in the Army, departed for Germany to fight in World War II.

Marilou and Peter’s first child, Marfy Goodspeed, was born in Grand Rapids while Peter was completing his military service abroad. She was followed by Dorothy Rankin Goodspeed, Harrison L. Goodspeed III, and Barrett Michael Goodspeed. After the war, Marilou and Peter lived in Ann Arbor, MI while Peter pursued a degree in engineering at the University of Michigan on the GI Bill. They also spent a year in Metuchen, NJ before returning to Grand Rapids, where they remained for the rest of their lives.

Among her many civic activities, Marilou participated in the Junior League and volunteered at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. For many years she was active at Blodgett Memorial Hospital, serving on the Center Board and organizing charitable events for the hospital’s St. John’s Guild. She also modeled in fashion shows sponsored by the Women’s City Club and St. Mary's Hospital.

While Marilou did not pursue a career in music, she enjoyed playing the piano for friends and at family gatherings. Over the years she became a gourmet cook, and she loved to ski, sail, travel, and listen to jazz and classical music. With her husband, she enjoyed participating in sports-car rallies, traveling around the Midwest for road-rally events. Above all, she was devoted to her family.

Her husband Peter died in 2011 after 67 years of marriage. She is survived by three children, Marfy Goodspeed, Dorothy G. Rankin, and Barrett M. Goodspeed; five grandchildren, Carl Zimmer, Benjamin Zimmer, Valerie Goodspeed, Nathan Rose, and Ariel Rose; and six great-grandchildren, Charlotte Farrell Zimmer, Veronica Goodspeed Zimmer, Blake Harrison Dante Zimmer, Seren Dina Banner-Goodspeed, Luka Francis Banner-Goodspeed, and Oliver Fox Rose. She is also survived by son-in-law Richard A. Zimmer, daughter-in-law Pamela Shields Goodspeed, and two sisters-in-law, Mary Goodspeed Alexander and Jane Dooge Goodspeed. A son, Harrison Goodspeed, died in 2004.

The family wishes to express their thanks and appreciation to the staff at Clark on Keller Lake for the wonderful care she received there, as well as Maggie McPhee, a family friend who comforted Marilou in her final days. A memorial gathering will be held from 1-3pm on Saturday October 19, 2024 at the Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Home. 

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