Mary Elizabeth (“Liz”) Goodsell, 83, of Blacksburg, died at 2:46 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 3, 2019, at the Palliative Care Unit of Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
She was preceded in death by her father, Colin Russell MacKintosh, mother Flora Marion Warnock MacKintosh, and sisters Nancy and Leslie. She is survived by husband Charles True Goodsell and daughters Holly Fechtmeyer of Phoenix, Arizona and Amanda Lloyd of Reston, Virginia.
Liz was a lifetime Presbyterian with ancestral roots in the MacKintosh clan centered in Moy, Scotland. Her grandfather emigrated to America from Scotland via Halifax, Nova Scotia. Liz was proud of this heritage and liked to show her clan’s colorful plaid tartan to anyone interested.
She grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in bacteriology. Her background in that field led to laboratory positions at the National Institute of Dental Health in Washington, Harvard University and Virginia Tech.
Liz was a great fan of Jane Austen and a longtime member of the Blacksburg Woman’s Book Club. Music was a keen interest as well; she played the recorder and performed at madrigal concerts at Radford University and sang in the choirs of Southern Illinois University, the University of Texas, Blacksburg Presbyterian Church and Warm Hearth Village. Other interests were birds, sewing and great art, which she first viewed from the shoulders of her Dad at the National Gallery of Art.
The family’s gratitude is offered for the skilled and kind care given by the nurses and staff of the Intensive Care and Palliative Care units of Roanoke Memorial Hospital during the last week of life. In lieu of flowers to Liz’s memory, donations are encouraged to the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 144, Blacksburg, Virginia 24063. A celebration of her life will be held at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church on Saturday, Mar. 16, 2019 at 2 p.m., to be conducted by the Rev. Katherine Carpenter. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg.
