Golda May McCauley, 74, of Illinois Veterans Home at La Salle, formerly of Troy Grove, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in St. Margaret's Hospital, Spring Valley after a long, courageous battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Services will be at 4 p.m. Saturday in Merritt Funeral Home , Mendota. Private burial will be at a later date. Visitation is 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Goldie was born Jan. 1, 1937, in Nauvoo to Elmer and Golda (Mapes) Knipe. She was the fourth of six children and during her youth she helped her parents and siblings operate the family fruit and vegetable farm. She graduated from Nauvoo High School in 1955 and was employed at Schaffer Pen Co. in Fort Madison, Iowa. In 1957 Goldie enlisted in the U.S. Women's Army Corps and finished boot camp at Fort McClelland, Ala. She completed her basic medical training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and subsequently served in hospitals at Fort Gordon, Ga., and Fort Lewis, Wash. Goldie served as a surgical medic in Camp Zama, Japan for the rest of her enlistment. She enjoyed traveling around Japan while playing basketball and softball with the WAC teams. Goldie was honorably discharged in San Francisco, Calif., in 1960. After her military service, Goldie returned to Schaffer Pen Co. for a year before moving to the Illinois Valley area to take a job with Westclox in Peru. Later she was employed with the Department of Defense in quality assurance, working for various periods of time at Westclox and Conco Inc. in Mendota where they were manufacturing military products. Goldie met her husband, James Edwin McCauley Jr. while working at Conco. They were married Sept. 2, 1967, and made their home in Troy Grove where they raised five children. She enjoyed many hobbies including gardening, woodworking, beadwork, fishing, refunding and collecting treasures. She was an avid sports fan and particularly enjoyed watching women's basketball and the Cubs. Goldie graduated with honors from the "College of Hard Knocks" and was a steadfast supporter of education who made great sacrifices to ensure her children had unlimited educational opportunities. Goldie is survived by one son, Timothy Jon of Madison, Wis.; three daughters, Teri Lyn (Michael Raczyla) of Chicago, Tobi Sue of Troy Grove and Toni Rae (Mike Moss) of Troy Grove; one beautiful granddaughter, Alyssa Rae; one sister, Ruth (Arthur) Muerhoff of Fort Madison, Iowa; and three brothers, Richard Knipe of Galesburg, Robert (Linda) Knipe of Sherwood, Ark., and LaVerne (Sue) Knipe of Moline. She was preceded in death by her husband, one daughter, Tracie Lyn; both parents, and one brother, Lester. Memorials may be directed to the family or the Troy Grove Fire Department.