Basic Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name (as used publicly) | Constance Goble (also referenced as Constance Goble Boykin Garcia) |
| Birth date | April 27, 1943 |
| Birthplace | White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia |
| Death date | May 4, 2010 |
| Education | Bachelor’s degree — Hampton Institute/University |
| Occupation | Elementary / middle-school teacher (longtime educator in Newport News, VA; taught several years in New Orleans) |
| Community / affiliations | Active in church life, choirs, deacon roles, and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority membership |
| Children | Katherine Michele Boykin-Sanders (Jenerio), Gregory Scott Boykin (Patricia), Douglas James Boykin |
| Grandchildren | Six (names not listed here) |
| Notable family tie | Daughter of NASA mathematician Katherine (Coleman) Goble Johnson |
Early life — a childhood threaded to a larger story
I first met Constance Goble on paper — a name folded into the much bigger narrative of her mother, Katherine (Coleman) Goble Johnson. But once I began tracing dates and neighborhoods, Constance’s life took on shape: born April 27, 1943, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, she entered a family that already carried a quiet insistence on education and public service. Numbers matter here — three daughters in that household, classrooms and math problems around the kitchen table, and a life that would tether itself to teaching, not rocket science.
The classroom as stage — career and community work
Constance built a career out of classrooms: a bachelor’s degree from Hampton Institute/University and decades spent molding young minds. She taught in Newport News, Virginia, with a five-year chapter in New Orleans — small figures that add up to a lifetime of lesson plans, report cards, and recess anecdotes. Think of her career like a long-running TV role: not always flashy, but steady, vital, and full of the small, cinematic moments that make a teacher unforgettable — the single proud student who finally gets the joke, the parent conference that changes a trajectory, the classroom display that makes a corridor glow.
- Years in education: multiple decades (public-school teacher until retirement).
- Taught in: Newport News, VA (primary), New Orleans (5 years).
- Degree: Bachelor’s from Hampton Institute/University.
Family introductions — the people who shaped and extended her life
If family is a constellation, Constance sits as a bright, dependable star among others that include fame and quiet domestic heroics. Below is a compact table that introduces each close family member by name and role.
| Name | Relationship | Short introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Katherine (Coleman) Goble Johnson | Mother | The celebrated NASA mathematician who became a cultural icon; mother of three daughters, including Constance. |
| James F. Goble | Father (first husband of Katherine) | Part of the family lineage under which Constance was raised. |
| Joylette (Goble) | Sister | One of Constance’s sisters — sibling ties that appear in family biographies and remembrances. |
| Katherine (Goble) Moore | Sister | Another sister who has appeared in public accounts of the family’s history. |
| Katherine Michele Boykin-Sanders (Jenerio) | Daughter | One of Constance’s three children, carrying forward the Boykin surname in the next generation. |
| Gregory Scott Boykin (Patricia) | Son | Son and member of Constance’s immediate family. |
| Douglas James Boykin | Son | Son and member of Constance’s immediate family. |
| Grandchildren (6) | Grandchildren | Six grandchildren mentioned in memorial accounts; one great-grandchild also noted. |
I say “introduce” because every name here deserves a scene — the mother whose life has a public gravitational pull, the siblings who shared childhood summers, the children who carried the family name forward. Constance’s role was often that of the steady connector: daughter, sister, mother, grandmother.
Dates and numbers that anchor a life
Dates act like mile markers in a biography. For Constance: born 4/27/1943, and the record of her passing is 5/4/2010 — numbers that bracket a life of 67 years. Add to that: three children, six grandchildren, one great-grandchild; at least five years teaching in New Orleans; a college degree from a historically Black institution — these are small, crucial data points that map out a life devoted to family and education.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Lifespan | 67 years (1943–2010) |
| Children | 3 |
| Grandchildren | 6 |
| Great-grandchildren | 1 |
| Years teaching in New Orleans | 5 |
The personality glimpses — what the obituary and family references whisper
Obituaries are quiet, but they hum with clues: Constance’s affiliations — church leadership, choirs, sorority life — suggest a woman who loved ritual, music, and community organization. I imagine her at a Sunday service, precise and present; then at a school desk, grading papers with the same painstaking care she brought to family. If Katherine Johnson was a headline, Constance was the reliable subplot — the sisterly hand, the mother who stayed close to the daily work of raising and educating.
The lived legacy — how a private life sits next to public legend
There’s a delicious irony: a family with a member in a movie and museum galleries — and another whose legacy lives in classrooms. Constance reminds us that legacies are layered: some are televised, others are chalk-dusted, both indispensable. In the arc of a famous mother’s life, Constance’s chapters create depth — the everyday heroics that make a great story believable.
FAQ
Who was Constance Goble?
Constance Goble was an educator and one of the three daughters of NASA mathematician Katherine (Coleman) Goble Johnson; she lived from April 27, 1943, to May 4, 2010.
What did Constance do for a living?
She worked for many years as an elementary and middle-school teacher, primarily in Newport News, Virginia, with a notable five-year teaching stint in New Orleans.
What is known about her education?
Constance held a bachelor’s degree from Hampton Institute/University.
Who were Constance’s immediate family members?
Her immediate family included her mother Katherine Goble Johnson, two sisters (Joylette and Katherine), three children (Katherine Michele Boykin-Sanders, Gregory Scott Boykin, Douglas James Boykin), six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
When was Constance born and when did she pass away?
She was born on April 27, 1943, and passed away on May 4, 2010.
Did Constance have any public-facing career like her mother?
No — unlike her mother’s high-profile career at NASA, Constance’s life was rooted in public education and community service rather than the public spotlight.
Is there information about her financial estate or net worth?
There is no widely published, authoritative figure for Constance Goble’s net worth; she is primarily remembered for her career in education and her family roles.
How many grandchildren did she have?
She was survived by six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
