Marsha Vae Goeken

Marsha Vae Goeken, age 64 of Hollywood, California passed away Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical

A memorial service will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at Zion Lutheran Church.

Services will be livestreamed on the Zion Lutheran Church, Scotland, SD NALC, Facebook page.

In lieu of flowers, donations will be directed to various deaf community organizations.

Marsha was born to Donald and LaVerne Goeken on October 10, 1958. She was baptized into the Lutheran Faith at Kaylor SD, and thereafter as she grew in years, a Christian education was provided for her through the Heartland EPHPHATHA Ministries where she continued learning in Lutheran teachings, until she made public affirmation of her baptism at East Side Lutheran in Sioux Falls, SD. 

Marsha attended and graduated from the South Dakota School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls, SD in 1977, and thereafter continued her education at the Gallaudet University in Washington D.C.  She was president of the Psi Theta Cast of Alpha Psi Omega (National Theatre Honor Society) and a Phi  Kappa  Zeta sister. There she entered competition and won The Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Award held at the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, which brought about her graduating with a B.A. degree in Theatre in 1982.  She then became employed at the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf in Cleveland, Ohio, which is a traveling theatre company that gave her opportunities to perform throughout the USA, plus other parts of the world, such as, Japan, Jordan and Czechoslovakia.  In 1986 her desire and love for theatre work took her to North Hollywood California, where she became one of the original members of the Deaf West Theatre Company and partook in many of their great productions.  Aside from theatre, Marsha worked in television and films, such as CBS Beauty and the Beast, FOX’s 9-1-1, No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie, and Jack and the Beanstalk, as well as others.  Another desire of hers came about in 2020, which was doing a Super Bowl Commercial for Turbo Tax.  As a devoted member of the Deaf Community, Marsha’s services included working for the Self Actualization Institute for the Deaf, plus several others, that were always for the betterment for deaf culture.

She was a devoted member of St Matthew’s Lutheran Church in North Hollywood, where she coordinated Sharing Hands Deaf Ministry at St. Matt’s, teaching ASL classes, as well as, volunteering for the NoHo Home Alliances Drop-In Services for an unhoused ministry, making sure those in need were well fed and clothed. Marsha had a passion of being within the company of her friends and caring for many of their children. She was adored throughout her communities of CA and SD.  

Marsha was preceded in death by her father Donald Goeken, and her paternal and maternal grandparents.

She is survived by her loving mother, LaVerne Goeken; aunt, Dorothy Lang of Rapid City and a host of cousins and friends.