Eldon Paul Goedtke, the son of Paul & Mary (Behr) Goedtke, was born on January 13, 1932 on a farm 4 miles north and 4 miles east of Fulda, MN. He was the fourth of five children and the only boy. According to his sisters, he was doted on by his parents and got away with causing trouble for his sisters, especially Marian the youngest.

After finishing the 8th grade, he worked on the farm with his father. He and his horse Scout would often join his cousin Raymond and his horse and go hunting. There are few if any pictures of their bounty causing one to wonder if he was a bad shot or just really didn't like the idea of shooting an animal.

His sister Marian was best friends with Bette Brown, and she introduced the two of them despite the trouble he caused her when she was younger. Bette worked in her parent's café in Fulda. Her parents, Charles and Muriel, were affectionately known to all as Ma and Pa Brown. She worked alongside her sister and brother, Judy and Charles. After a brief courtship, Eldon and Bette were united in marriage on April 20, 1952 at First Presbyterian Church in Fulda. They moved to his parent's farmhouse and eventually rented the farm from them after his parents moved into town. Eldon tells the story that he thought he was going to set the world on fire and become a successful farmer which in those days may have been considered an oxymoron. They later went into a partnership with Milford Davis and worked a farm in Slayton. With a strong desire to succeed, he severed his relationship with Davis and bought a farm in Tracy Minnesota. Along the way, they had 5 children one of which died as an infant (Gene, Patty, Peggy, David and Debbie). After working hard there for 3 years, they decided to move to Jacksonville in 1968, where Bette's parents, an uncle and cousin lived. Eldon & Bette were serial entrepreneurs. He started out working for a local utility company putting his diesel mechanic skills that he learned while working on his own equipment and the local John Deere shop in Tracy. They purchased a 7-11 convenience store and later sold that business to Lil' Champ. They invested that money into a pool room called "The Alibi". They later moved that business and renamed it "The Eight-Ball Poolroom". After much success they eventually sold that business and he started Getkey Trucking. During all those years, he almost always owned a boat in which he would retrofit into a shrimp boat. He referred to his shrimping business as an expensive hobby. As a serial entrepreneur he invested well into his many businesses, but the biggest investments he made were in people. There are many that benefited from his many loans, some of which were forgiven. He not only invested money, but time in mentoring those that crossed his path; helping them to succeed as he had. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville and knew Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

He is survived by his children Gene (Alzi) Goedtke, Patty Caviness, David (Connie) Goedtke, Debbie (Carl) West, 5 grandsons; Nathan, Michael, Patrick (Mo), Stephen (Emily), Zachary, 1 great grandson Lochdonan and his sister Luella Kirchner. He is preceded in death by his infant daughter, Peggy Lee, his parents, and his sisters Lillian Buresch, Evelyn Behr, and Marian Isder.

A celebration of his life will be held at South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church at 2137 Hendricks Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32207 on Saturday, November 14th, 11 A.M. This will be a Socially Distanced Service; masks will be required and instructions will be provided for maintaining distance while attending the service. Visitation begins at 10:20 A.M. and will continue after the service.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Christians in Alliance - Kathy Gould Ministries, PO Box 551229, Jax., FL 32255 or one of his favorite charities or the charity of your choice.

City Rescue Mission, 243 W State St., Jacksonville FL 32202

Living New Ministries, PO Box 6308, Jacksonville, FL 32236

Salvation Army, 328 N Ocean St., Jacksonville, FL 32202

Sulzbacher Center 611 E Adams St., Jacksonville, FL 32202

Funeral arrangements are under the direction and care of Arlington Park Funeral Home, 6920 Lone Star Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32211 (904) 724-6384.