Promoted to Glory: Major Goldie Long
Major Goldie Long was Promoted to Glory on March 7, 2024, at the age of 73. She is a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and faithful servant of God, and she passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family.
Goldie May O’Neil was born on August 23, 1950, to parents Homer and Violet O’Neil. Her life is a testament to her unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. From a young age she dedicated herself to The Salvation Army’s mission and ministry, embodying its values of service and compassion.
Ed and Goldie’s roads seemed destined to merge from the beginning. Unknown to them at the time, they grew up just a block from each other in Wheeling, WV. After they finally met in their early teens, they discovered that Sunday School was the only way they could see one another, so they began attending at the Wheeling Corps in 1963.
Upon graduation from high school, Ed joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served for six years, with one year in Vietnam. All the time he was gone, he and Goldie wrote to each other as their love deepened. They married on December 23, 1968, with Major George Woods, Sr. officiating. Goldie joined Ed at Camp Pendleton on Valentine’s Day in 1969.
Wheeling had always been home to the couple, so upon Ed’s honorable discharge, they bought a home there in anticipation of raising their children. Four daughters made the Long Family complete (Linda, Allison, Pamela, and Stephanie). Ed became a police officer in Wheeling, eventually rising to the rank of police chief, while Goldie worked as a secretary at the Stone Presbyterian Church.
Ed and Goldie served as faithful soldiers of the Wheeling Corps, bringing their four girls with them, teaching them the value of faithful service to Jesus Christ and the corps. Goldie was a Sunday School teacher, Corps Cadet counselor, and YPSM. She also served for three years as a teacher at the National Seminar of Evangelism at Glen Eyrie, CO.
They had always told The Salvation Army that they would like to serve as Supply Sergeants (to fill in somewhere for a short period of time). After Ed’s retirement from the police force in September 1997, they finally received that call from Lt. Colonel John Falin (then at the Maryland-West Virginia Divisional Headquarters) about such an opportunity. Goldie retired from her position as office administrator at Stone Presbyterian Church and went to serve at the Baltimore Hampden Corps, MD, for what they thought would be a temporary assignment.
Sixteen years and five corps appointments later, in 2013 they retired honorably with the rank of Major and made their retirement home in Bethlehem, WV.
Major Goldie Long is preceded in death by her parents and two sisters, Marilyn Long and Dianne White.
She is survived by her loving husband of over 55 years, Major Ed Long; four daughters, Linda (Roger) Fonner, Allison (Mark) Saseen, Pamela (Todd) Henderson, and Major Stephanie (Bill) Mockabee. She also leaves nine grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, three brothers, and many nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at The Salvation Army Wheeling Corps on Wednesday, March 13, followed by interment at Parkview Memorial Gardens.