Sankey S. Good was born May 23, 1886, in Bernadotte, Fulton County, Illinois, the son of Rev. Daniel P. Good and Clara Manbeck. He was the twin brother of Moody M. Their names were inspired by the then popular American Evangelical Revivalists, Ira David Sankey and Dwight Lyman Moody.
According to Sankey’s daughter, Emily Ann Good Lord, their middle initials did not stand for anything.
Sankey and his family moved to Naperville in 1888. Sankey attended the public schools in Naperville and then joined the U.S. Navy. Sankey served as a Navy seaman from 1904 to 1917. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army on Oct. 24, 1917, where he served as a private in the HQ Co. Infantry School of Arms at Camp Benning in Columbus, GA, until Feb. 7, 1919.
Sankey married Evelyn Cobb Thornton on Oct. 25, 1919, in Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia. They were the parents of a daughter, Emily Ann, who married John Lord.
Emily Ann, or as she became known, Ann Lord, served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the Naperville Municipal Band for 66 years until her death at age 93 in 2024.
Sankey was a postal employee, serving as a clerk, Assistant Postmaster and as Postmaster of Naperville from January 22, 1927, until January 22, 1931. He was a Charter member of the American Legion Naperville Post #43, Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 81, and Floral Rebecca Lodge No. 265.
Sankey was raised a Master Mason in Euclid Lodge No. 65 on October 10, 1910, and served as Master of the Lodge in 1916, when the current Masonic Temple building was erected. He was exalted a Royal Arch Mason March 28, 1911, and served as High Priest of the Euclid Chapter No. 13 in 1920.
Sankey S. Good died April 19, 1936, at his home at 634 N. Ellsworth Street in Naperville. Funeral services were held at 3PM Wed., April 22, at the Arthur R. Beidelman Funeral Chapel in Naperville, under the auspices of Euclid Lodge No. 65. Rev. Dewey R. Eder officiated and the Oriental Masonic Quartette furnished the music. Interment was made in the Naperville Cemetery.
