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Sept. 4, 1939 – Dec. 26, 2023

NATCHEZ – Funeral services for Etta Mae Harris Gooden, 84, who departed this earthly life on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Natchez will be held Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, at 11 a.m. at Milford Baptist Church with Bishop Calvin Blake officiating.

Burial will follow in the church cemetery under the direction of West Gate Funeral Home.

Visitation will be held on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m. at the funeral home and will continue on Saturday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service at the church.

Etta was born Sept. 4, 1939, in Natchez, the daughter of Callie Cleveland and Steve Harris. She was educated in the Natchez-Adams School District and retired from the school district-Natchez Middle School. Mrs. Gooden was a member of Milford Baptist Church where she served on the Mother’s Board and in the Senior Choir. She enjoyed cleaning, cooking, talking on the telephone, shopping, and working in the yard.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Elijah Gooden; parents; sisters, Mildred Davis, Edna Mae Jackson, Clara Murphy, and Debra Harris; and brother, Willie Edward Harris.

Etta leaves to cherish her memories: two sons, Elijah Gooden III and Louis Gooden; two daughters, Renza Morgan, and Gloria Tensley; five brothers, Melvin “Bo” Harris, Charles Cleveland, James Cleveland, Alton Robinson, and Steve Harris; five sisters, Juanita Harris, Maxine Harris, Lillian Harris, Brenda Harris and Velma Myles; eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.

Online condolences may be sent to www.westgatefh.com.