John Edwin Goldsmith was born on Sept. 9, 1937, in Embree, Missouri to Jones William Goldsmith and Mary (Cunningham) Goldsmith. He left this earth to be with Jesus on Jan. 22, 2026 in Bay City, Michigan.
Edwin grew up in the Plato community and graduated from Plato High School. Edwin married his high school sweetheart, June Wallace, on April 26, 1957. They resided first in Plato, Missouri then moved to Houston, Missouri, where they lived for over 60 years. June predeceased Edwin in 2023 after celebrating over 66 years of marriage.
Edwin worked at Fort Leonard Wood, starting as a file clerk. Through hard work and determination, he retired as the director of resource management for the Fort.
After retiring, he started a second career raising beef cattle and horses, which brought him immense pleasure. He never called farming work, enjoying both the land and the livestock. You could find him out daily with his best friend, Porter Wiseman, not only working on the farm, but also helping anyone that needed an extra hand.
After retirement, he served his community as alderman and then mayor for the City of Houston. He also served as the president of the Mt. Pisgah cemetery board for many years. He was a member of the Texas County Masonic Lodge for over 65 years.
Edwin’s greatest roles were that of husband, father and Papa. A kinder, gentler and more loving soul could not be found. He leaves behind an enormous legacy of family memories including four wheeling, spitting on your worms while fishing, horse shows, pranks, Papa bites and waking everyone up very, very early on Christmas morning. Edwin was extremely proud of his family and would brag about them to anyone that would listen.
Edwin is survived by his daughter, Lisa (Brett) Quencer of Midland, Michigan; granddaughter, Alyssa (Jimmy) Stiving of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grandson, Chase (Jessica) Quencer of Midland. He is also survived by two very special great granddaughters that always brought a twinkle to his eye and a smile to his face — Amelia Stiving of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Elliott Quencer of Midland.
A private family memorial and burial will be held at a later date. Internment will be at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Plato, Missouri.
Memorial contributions may be made to Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, 12220 Highway AP, Plato, Missouri 65552 or St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.