Jacobi Lauren Goodell

September 25, 1991 - September 12, 2019

Jacobi Lauren Goodell, 27 of Omaha, formerly of Kearney passed away Thursday, September 12, 2019, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Funeral services will be 3:30 p.m. Saturday, September 21, 2019, at Grace Fellowship Church with Pastor Mitch Ivey officiating. Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday at O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home in Kearney and one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorials are suggested to the family to establish an ΑΟΠ (Alpha Omicron Pi) Sorority Scholarship Fund. Condolences may be shared online at www.osrfh.com. Services are entrusted to O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services. Jacobi Lauren Goodell was born September 25, 1991, in Kearney, Nebraska, to Lynn and Judy (Hansen) Goodell. She attended K-3rd grade at Picotte Elementary in Omaha and completed the rest of her education in Kearney at Windy Hills Elementary, Horizon Middle School and Kearney High. With a heart for music, she participated in many choral groups and the yearly high school musical for 4 years at KHS. While traveling abroad and singing in beautiful cathedrals with the KHS chorale, she experienced the trip of a lifetime and fell in love with Ireland. Because of her studious nature, she had great academic success in high school. She was a member of the National Honor Society and graduated with honors from KHS in 2010; she was also awarded several scholarships including a Board of Regents Scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). From 2010-2014 she attended UNK and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. As a member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, she served as assistant sisterhood chair, philanthropy chair and she assisted with sorority rituals as well as charitable fundraising events and served on a variety of committees. Jacobi was greatly blessed by her sorority friends, AKA “the guys,” who truly loved her like a sister and called her “Jack”. “Jack” was a sister-aunt to Bexley, daughter of one of her sorority sisters, and was excited for another baby soon to arrive. Besides her sorority sisters, Jacobi was blessed with friendships with Amanda, Courtney, and Lacey. For seven of her high school and college years, she worked at the Kearney Cinema 8 and became quite a movie critic and could easily beat her family in Disney trivia. While in college, she completed a summer internship for Crane River Theatre in Kearney. Following graduation, Jacobi moved to Omaha and worked at the Hyatt Reservation Center and sold Dippin’ Dots at an Omaha mall. The summer of 2015 she returned to Kearney and was employed by Scorr Marketing as a Trade Show Coordinator. In July of 2016, Jacobi accepted an Omaha position as the Building Manager of The Mastercraft and she was also the Venue Manager and Director of the Living Room event space. Under her management, The Living Room was recognized as 2018 Best of Wedding Vendors from the Knot. This past year she was employed as an event producer for Catering Creations in Omaha. She found great success with this company and was greatly respected by her colleagues. Her success allowed her the opportunity to travel and she was planning a trip to Italy this November. Jacobi was a member of Grace Fellowship Church in Kearney and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ when she was in third grade. In her spare time, Jacobi enjoyed playing board games, trivia games and watching Gilmore Girls. She loved listening to music by Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and any music from a Broadway musical. She had hoped to see “Hamilton” with her family this past Sunday, but she had already made her journey to Heaven. She loved reading books and writing encouraging notes to others. Her family discovered that journaling had become a major focus of hers in recent years and her entries reveal how deeply she understood God’s perfect love for her. She was a goal oriented young woman and her family also discovered she had begun to write her own book. She was a dog lover and was the proud owner of Remy who was a great protector and loving companion. She will always be remembered for her compassion, her wit, her loving heart and her beautiful smile. Left to cherish her memory are her parents, Lynn and Judy Goodell of Kearney; brothers, Jamisen (Alexandria Tran) Goodell of Salt Lake City, UT, and Josh (Emily) Goodell of Omaha; uncles, Richard (Betty Jo) Goodell of Odessa, Kevin (Cathy) Goodell of Sonoma, CA, and Larry (Roxann) Hansen of Boise, ID; her dog, Remy; as well as, many cousins and extended family and friends. Jacobi was preceded in death by her grandparents, LaVerne and Arleen Goodell and Russell and Leona Hansen; aunt, Arla Brenneman and her husband, Howard; and uncle, Delmer Goodell.