Elizabeth “Moe” (Morey) Goetz, Ph.D., passed away peacefully on November 2, 2012 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas, where she recently had been admitted after fracturing her hip in a fall. She was 85 years old.
Born in Mansfield, Ohio on August 1, 1927, Moe’s father was a physician, and her mother was a nurse. Her brother preceded her in death. Shortly after graduating from Grinnell College in 1950, Moe worked for a law firm in Chicago, Illinois, where she met her husband, Raymond Goetz. In 1967, Ray and Moe moved to Lawrence when Ray was hired as a professor at the KU School of Law.
After her youngest child reached school age, Moe earned two degrees from KU: a Master’s degree with honors in Child Development in 1970 and a Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Psychology in 1977. She had a distinguished academic career in KU’s Department of Child Development, becoming an Assistant Professor in 1974, Associate Professor in 1978 and Professor in 1985. She served as the Director of the Edna A. Hill Child Development Laboratory from 1978 to 1987. She authored scores of publications, primarily on creativity in children and preschool literacy, and edited two books on early childhood education. She became Professor Emerita in 1992.
Ray and Moe were well known in the Lawrence community for their support of the arts and wonderful hospitality, often opening their art-filled home to students, faculty and friends for parties and events.
Moe is survived by two daughters, Sibyl Wescoe (David) of La Jolla, California and Victoria Goetz (Ted Coffey) of Lawrence; three sons, Thomas Goetz of Lawrence, Steven Goetz of Portland, Oregon and Morey Goetz (Lisa Hess) of Austin, Texas; and six grandchildren, Maxwell, Benjamin, Zachary and Zoe Wescoe, and Scott and Kelly Goetz. Raymond, Moe’s husband of 49 years, died in 2000. Their son, Ray, died in 2001.
All services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Moe’s name to the Douglas County Visiting Nurses, sent in care of the funeral home, P.O. Box 1260, Lawrence, KS 66044.