Constance Cole Goodbread

Connie was born in Lafayette, Ind., and at a young age her family moved from Berea, Ohio to Nashville, Tenn., where she attended St. Cecilia Academy. She went on to attend the Newcomb College of Tulane University (class of 1966), where she met her loving husband, Mike Goodbread, whom she married Dec. 29, 1966, and stood by for more than 59 years. She graduated with a BA degree in English and Spanish, with honors. After settling in Jacksonville, Fla., she found her true calling in early education. She taught at Christ the King Catholic School in Jacksonville, where she educated and patiently guided kindergartners for most of her 40-year career. It was the ideal role for someone who always loved being around young children. She shepherded the very first steps of their scholastic lives - more than 1,000 of them in her career would be a conservative estimate - and reaped rewards for decades in the form of gratitude from her former students and their parents. She retired from teaching in 2016.

Connie was a devoted Catholic who attended Holy Spirit and Christ The King Catholic churches in Jacksonville, as well as St. Paul's in Jacksonville Beach, and beginning in 2021, St. Joseph in Marietta. Ga.

Her every decision and thought was faith-guided, and she exercised that faith in actions more than words. She prayed every morning, attended daily mass, and filled her days doing for others, whether that meant teaching, being a calm, steady hand for her family, or lifting up the less fortunate. She volunteered for years with Mike at a Catholic Mission for the homeless. She attended Bible Study Fellowship, an interdenominational fellowship of lay people offering structured, in-depth Bible study, for over 25 years in Jacksonville and Marietta.

Connie was preceded in death by her parents, Marge Briscoe Cole and William Garvin Cole, and her oldest son, Michael Eugene Goodbread, Jr.

She is survived by her loving husband Mike of Marietta, three children, Chase Goodbread of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mandy Nesz of Scottsdale, Ariz., and John Goodbread of Kennesaw, Ga. Other surviving relatives include her seven grandchildren, Henry, James, Pierce, Peyton, Layne, Caroline and Charlotte, as well as two younger brothers, Chase and Bill Cole, of Nashville, Tenn.

Connie's family will receive visitors on Monday, July 20, from 5-7 p.m. at West Cobb Funeral Home, 2480 Macland Road, Marietta, GA 30064. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, July 21, at 10 a.m., at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 87 Lacy St. NW, Marietta, 30060. Connie will be laid to rest Friday, July 24, at 11a.m., at Jacksonville Memory Gardens, 111 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park, Fla., 32073.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations made to Tapestry Hospice in Kennesaw, Ga.