MARYSVILLE – Jerry Goforth planned to spend Tuesday in his backyard with family and friends to mourn his wife Margie’s death.
Instead, a fire destroyed the house the couple shared for 24 years.
The blaze ate through the back of the house and shot through the roof, consuming memories: the piano Margie loved to play, the costumes she’d sewn for Renaissance fairs.
“It’s been a tough week,” Jerry Goforth said, wiping away a tear. “Everything was going smoothly getting the house ready for the memorial and then this happens.”
He was cleaning up the front yard about 12:30 p.m. when he saw smoke pouring from the back of the house, in the 7000 block of 21st Drive NE.
Jerry Goforth was able to move his car and grab a few items – including Margie’s beloved 1968 guitar – before being forced out by the flames, his son Chris Goforth said.
“We walked through the whole house and there’s nothing salvageable. It’s all gone,” he said.
The family was about to cancel Tuesday’s memorial service when neighbor Vickie Velo offered her yard.
“That’s what the neighbors in this neighborhood do,” Velo said. “Everyone looks out for each other here.”
She and other neighbors remembered Margaret “Margie” Goforth as a fun-loving woman who cared deeply for her family.
“This is just a heartbreaking day,” said Mary Nation, Jerry Goforth’s sister. “It’s almost more than one person can take.”
Jerry and Margie Goforth had been married 36 years, she said, and he’d cared for her after she was diagnosed with lung cancer early this year. She died Thursday at age 56.
“They loved each other so much,” she said.
Before her illness, Margie Goforth worked at Lynnwood City Hall doing data entry. Co-workers described her as “full of life,” and always eager to help.
She’d often urge one of them to take in a stray cat. She had four, which all died in the fire.
A talented seamstress, Margie Goforth enjoyed creating costumes, which she sold at area Renaissance fairs, her family said.
She was also a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group that researches and recreates life in pre-17th century Europe.
She’d even occasionally persuaded her husband to wear one of her costumes, friends said.
Jerry Goforth spent Tuesday night with son Chris Goforth. Son Jason Goforth also attended the memorial service.
Jerry Goforth’s home was insured, Chris Goforth said. The American Red Cross is also aiding him.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@ heraldnet.com.
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