Avis Devere Godwin, the sixth child of Sophus J. and Laura (Camp) Hassel, was born in Letcher, South Dakota on Oct. 24, 1926, and went to her eternal home on April 25, 2026, attaining 99 ½ years of age.
Preceding her in death are her parents, husband, Andrew H. Godwin; son, Gregory Godwin; five sisters, June Cote, Leora Berlin, Ida Rowe, Shirley Conte and Cleo McMillian; and two brothers, Jack and Ronald Hassel. She is survived by sister-in-law, Betty Hassel; four of her five children, Cindy Haley (Bob – deceased), Andrew Lee Godwin, John (Sheri) Godwin and Nancy (Wayne) Lucero; six biological grandchildren, Tony Fell, Robert Haley, Adam (Chrissy) Godwin, Ericka (Mike) Reed, Lisa (J.T.) Green and Stacy (Caroline) Godwin-Law; as well as five bonus grandchildren, Jayson (Staci) Gustafson, Trevar Hupf, Kyle (Peyton) Hupf, Ashley Lucero and Debbie (Chris) Liput; 14 great-grandchildren, Brandon (Brianna), Skyler, Bryan (Keirsten), Zach, Xavier, Xandrea, D.J., Jameson, Ridley, Dahlia, Bodhi, Griffin, Harlow and Hudsyn; and two great-great-grandchildren, Hope and River.
Avis enjoyed simple childhood pleasures while growing up during The Depression, like sitting in a field on the way to school to braid “beautiful” dandelions into a necklace, happily stomping in puddles in the rain and using them as a “dance floor” when frozen, digging tunnels through the deep South Dakota snow drifts, shaping clay dirt into people and houses, and swimming in their local lake.
Avis moved with her parents and younger siblings to Denver, Colorado when she was 16, which was home for 80 years, until moving at age 96 to Houston, Missouri. A highly intelligent, independent and fiercely competitive woman, she was a “gamer” before the term was coined. Pinochle was her game of choice until she learned to play Bridge in her 70s. She belonged to several card groups meeting weekly or monthly, counting them as her best friends. Family get-togethers always included at least one game of Shanghai Rummy or Bid, if not Pinochle. She knew every card that had been played and delighted in “taking a trick” from her competitors or “going down” while others held a handful of cards that counted against them. Her motto: “There are no friends or family in cards.” She was a shrewd Scrabble player, vying to outsmart her daughters, and in fact left being the winner! When her children and grandchildren were young, she stopped everything to play board games with them, teaching them the hard lesson that winning was earned, not freely given.
Her analytical mind was always in action thinking up solutions, leading her to be an expert at the most challenging Sudoku puzzles. She loved to take a house floor plan and rework it to better use the space, even visiting open houses with five kids in tow, then redrawing the floor plans upon returning home. She was a mathematical whiz, her favorite job being bookkeeper for Woolworth’s Department Store in Denver. Her one year of college at the University of Denver before marriage helped her decide accounting, rather than teaching college math, was her forte.
When she and her husband bought their first service station in 1960, she naturally took care of the financial records and payroll while Andy ran the business. She looked forward to reconciling her bank statements to the penny, budgeting and saving toward buying their own home, which was a fine investment after living there 55 years. In her 50s, she took college classes and mastered the use of computer spreadsheets. Following retirement from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife office, she volunteered her time with the AARP income tax program annually. Her mind stayed sharp until her body gave up.
Her favorite physical activities in adulthood were working in her flower garden, mowing the lawn and shoveling snow. And oh, did she love traveling by cruise ship! As a widow in her 60s, she visited England, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Jamaica, Haiti, Hawaii and Alaska. Since her father was four years old when his family immigrated from Aarhus, Denmark, she found an interest in genealogy.
In her “spare time,” she took care of two of her widowed sisters in their later years, neither of whom had children, and was always available to her own children and grandchildren in need. She was active at Bear Creek Presbyterian Church for many years, serving in the Stephen Ministry and the nursery, and enjoyed the monthly luncheons with her “old lady” friends. At age 84, she excitedly went snow sledding in Missouri with her great grandsons and there’s video proof! Avis will be lovingly remembered as the spunky, ornery, “roller coaster” mom with quick wit and wry sense of humor who was “game” for fun times.
A memorial service for Avis will be held at a later date. Arrangements entrusted to Evans Funeral Home. Online condolences may be left at www.evansfh.com.
