Franklin -Tena Arrington Goodson, 73, passed away November 21, 2011 at Norfolk Sentara Heart Hospital with her family by her side after a brief illness. Born in Buckhorn, VA on October 1, 1938, she was the youngest of five children of the late Charlie James and Mable Mae Galtress Arrington. She was a member of Beaver Dam Baptist Church and a former Acteen leader and UMW member. Tena helped start Girl Scout Troop 630 at Carrsville Elementary School and was a former coach for the Carrsville Allstars girls softball team. She was a volunteer for the Southampton County Agriculture and Forestry Museum.
Survivors include her husband of nearly fifty years, Joseph W. "Joe" Goodson; two daughters, Jackie Goodson-Howell and her husband, Stewart, and Becky Goodson-Belcher and her husband, Kelly, all of Franklin; a sister, Inell A. Rutledge of Carrsville; a brother, Charles J. Arrington, Jr.and wife, Jackie, of Courtland and three beloved grandchildren, Robert Colton Howell, Jackson Taylor Howell and Katelin Renae Belcher, all of Franklin and a host of nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a brother, Henry Eugene "Gene" Arrington; a sister, Carolyn A. Clifford; a brother-in-law, Everette Rutledge and a nephew, Frankie Clifford.
A funeral will be conducted at 3 p.m. Saturday in Wright Funeral Home by the Rev. Ernest Trueblood. Burial will follow at Beaver Dam Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home and other times at the home of her daughter, Jackie, at 28273 Handsom Road. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Southampton County Agriculture and Forestry Museum.