Reverend John J. Goff was born in November 1895 in Virginia, Illinois and was educated at Quincy College and the Kenrick Seminary in Webster Groves, Missouri. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 24, 1924 in St. Louis by Most Reverend John J. Glennon.

His first assignment was as assistant pastor of St. John’s Church in Quincy. He was appointed pastor of St. Joseph Church in Benld, Illinois in 1931. The anti-religious sentiment of this mining town resulted in a death threat to Fr. Goff and loyal parishioners spent the nights in the rectory with a loaded machine gun as protection. When the economy and parishioner relationship took a turn for the better, Fr. Goff was moved to Sacred Heart Church in Springfield in 1942.

Upon the sudden death of Fr. Gramke in October of 1945, the Bishop transferred Fr. Goff from Springfield to St. Anthony of Padua in Effingham. He arrived in November of 1945 with his two bird dogs and fine collection of shotguns. His first objective was to continue the church improvement project started by Fr. Gramke. His next concern was freeing the parish of debt, which they did in 1946 finishing the year with $13,000 to start the extensive building project Fr. Goff and the parishioners envisioned.

Fr. Goff and the parish soon embarked on an aggressive building campaign. In 1947 four new classrooms and a library were constructed. A new school gymnasium was built in 1949, a new rectory in 1951, four new grade school classrooms in 1953, and a new wing was added the convent remodeled in 1955. And in 1958 the initial plans were completed with the construction of six additional classrooms. It is believed that these construction projects were completed for a total investment of $550,000.

The most extensive portion of this campaign was the addition to the high school in 1947 and the construction of the new gym in 1948. In order to complete this addition, it was necessary to raise the old parish hall, which had been the first building project of St. Anthony - the 1858 church. The new gym was completed in 1949 and was, at the time, the largest in the area (86’ wide, 115’ long) with a balcony and telescoping bleachers. It had a seating capacity of 1700 for sporting events and 2500 for special events.

As the gym was under construction, tragedy struck the Effingham community on April 4, 1949 as seventy-seven lost their lives in the terrible fire that destroyed St. Anthony Hospital. With that in mind, the St. Anthony gymnasium was dedicated on April 24, 1949 and named Memorial Gymnasium in honor of those that perished in the fire.

In 1965 the parish initiated a 3 phase building project with phase 1 being the construction of a new high school on Roadway Avenue. School construction started in the fall of 1965, was open for use in January of 1967 and dedicated in March of 1967. Phase 2 and Phase 3 planned for the construction of additional classrooms and a specific high school gym and auditorium. In hindsight, the vision of Fr. Goff paved the way for our new high school addition under construction as of this writing. Today, his vision is finally being fulfilled.

Fr. Goff was honored with his installation as a monsignor in June of 1966. In October of 1968 he announced his retirement and decided to make his home the St. Anthony Parish rectory. In November of 1968, 1300 attended his retirement celebration and the first official basketball game was played in the newly named Goff Gym on December 1, 1968 against East St. Louis Lincoln. Memorial Gym was erected in 1949 and was appropriately named in the honor of those who perished in the hospital fire. In 1968 the gym was renamed J.J. Goff Gym, an appropriate memorial to a man who dramatically enhanced the parish and the community.