Theodore Lee Gooch, III 1948-2013

SMITHSON, GOOCH

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 2/5/2013 at 11:49:55

Sioux City Journal
25 January 2013

SIOUX CITY | Theodore Lee Gooch, III, 64, of Sioux City, hitched a ride with the Lord on Jan. 21, 2013, at a local hospital.

Services will be noon Saturday at Waterbury Funeral Service, with the Rev. Roger Madden officiating. Per his wishes, Theodore has been cremated. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home.

Theodore was born on June 12, 1948, in Norfolk, Va., the son of Theodore Lee Gooch II, a World War II veteran, and Emily (Smithson) Gooch. Theodore grew up in Virginia surrounded by a large trucking family. He would often go trucking with his dad and became a man of the road himself. Theodore enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was oversees for four years. He served as an E-3 seaman on the USS Yancey, and as his captain said, "He was the best boiler man he had ever seen." Lee passed through Sioux City, where he met the love of his life, Linda, at Truck Haven. They had one son, Theodore Lee Gooch IV.

Lee was the brightest star to ever walk this earth. He touched every life he came in contact with. He was a genuine person who could make anyone laugh and was definitely one of a kind. Keep on Trucking.

Survivors include his special lady, Linda (Heger) Nelson; sons, Theodore Lee Gooch IV of Sioux City, and Robert Joseph "BJ" Nelson of Las Vegas, Nev.; daughter, Misty Nelson and her husband, Eddie Motz of Sioux City; brother, Jimmy Gooch of Virginia; special cousin, Curtis Gooch; and three grandchildren, Laycoln and Mya Mae Motz, and Arianna Nelson; and many, many good friends he made during his travels.

Theodore was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Thomas Ray Gooch; and many friends.