John Wolfgang Goebel was born August 20, 1924 near Townsend MT to homesteaders Nicholas and Frieda (Wolff) Goebel; after his mother died when John was just 2 years old, he was taken in by Mrs. Carroll, a registered nurse who cared for others in her home since Townsend did not have a hospital, while his father ran the farm for the Sisters of Charity orphan's home in Helena. He was raised with "siblings" Frank Carroll and Kathryn (Robert Miller, formerly of Helena). While in high school (next door to Mrs. Carroll's home), his FFA project was poultry, the only livestock activity permitted within the city limits. When the industrial arts teacher was drafted during WW2, John was asked to "finish" his senior year as the shop teacher. Upon high school graduation, John enlisted in the US Navy, and went to the South Pacific with the Seabees, helping build breakwaters and landing strips, spending time in the Marshall Islands and Guam. Following WW2, John worked road construction, building roads near Pipestone and Wolf Creek, while attending Montana State University in Bozeman; originally majoring in civil engineering, he eventually graduated in 1951 with a B.S. degree in Industrial Arts. He taught in Shelby for 2 years, then was asked to "fill in" for a professor on sabbatical at Northern Montana College, then spent the next 37+ years teaching at Northern. In 1956, he completed his M.A. in Industrial Education at Northern Colorado University in Greely. In 1958, he was the Montana delegate to the 3rd National Conference on Traffic Safety Education; he later completed his Education Specialist degree in Traffic Safety Education at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg. He was instrumental in starting the driver education teacher training programs for the state of Montana at Northern; he offered the first motorcycle safety course at Northern in 1974. Later, after attending workshops at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, he brought back ideas for emergency driver education, and "did what it took" for a similar program for Montana, which is still functioning today in Lewistown MT. His main advice to all his students: Find your passion, something you enjoy, something you are good at, something that is honorable, and give back to the community. If you wake up in the morning and hate what you're doing, you're not doing the right thing. While teaching an adult education class in leather tooling, he met Inga Hentschel. They married in 1955, raising 3 children. Nick (Jana Brough) followed his father's passion for making automobiles look nice, working for Hammer'n Hank's Auto Body. Jim (JoAnne Formanack) followed his father's passion for engineering, eventually becoming a licensed surveyor. Carolyn "Cari" (Jerry Frahm) also completed degrees in engineering, several in education, taught driver ed, designed roads & traffic safety engineering for MDOT and eventually finished her M.S. in health & safety (at St. Cloud State, with an assistantship at the MN Traffic Safety Center following many of her father's footsteps), following her father's passion for raising chickens and teaching (including adjunct for 5 years at Northern). John joined the Knights of Columbus while a college student at Bozeman; he progressed through the ranks, serving as Grand Knight, and Faithful Navigator for the 4th degree. For many years, he was Newman Club advisor at Northern; he also was advisor for the Industrial Arts Club, arranging for their travel to the World's Fair in Spokane WA. When his sons were old enough to join scouts, he became Scout Master for St. Jude's Boy Scout Troop #433, which he continued well-past the time his son, Jim, earned Eagle Scout. John was Scout Master for the Montana delegation to National Jamborees at Farragut Idaho, and later to Morraine State Park in Pennsylvania. For several years, John helped in training Emergency Medical Technicians. He also served on the Hill County Park Board, gave tours at Havre Beneath-the-Streets, and managed to keep active in St. Jude's Parish, serving as lay lector and ecumenical minister. John & Inga traveled to Germany and Florida to meet his mother's siblings, to Hawaii 50 years after WW2, their cabin in Beaver Creek Park, and made numerous Amtrack trips to Minnesota, when Cari & Jerry ran a dairy farm (with a much more modern barn than the kind his father milked cows in for the orphan's home). Due to his declining health over the past decade, Jerry & Cari relocated back to Montana to help care for him; this made his trips to see the chickens and cows much closer and often. John died at his home April 17, 2013 with Inga and Nick at his side, in the house he helped build and lived in since 1956. John was preceded in death by his mother in 1926, his father in 1963. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Inga, 3 children and their spouses, and 3 grandchildren, plus his wife's siblings and families: Fred (Ginny) Hentschel of Spokane, Sylvia (Gary) Funk of Missoula, and Ray (Julie) Hentschel of Havre, and aunt Ilse Wagner and her family. Memorials may be made to Hill County Park Board OR St. Judes. Services and arrangements have been entrusted to Holland & Bonine Funeral Home.