ROCKINGHAM, VA – The Rev. Dr. John Robert Goodman, 81, formerly of Elizabethtown, N.C., died Tuesday (August 8, 2023) in the Sunnyside Retirement Community Healthcare Center.
Born November 28, 1941, in Laurinburg, North Carolina, he was a son of Rev. Frank LeRoy Goodman and Edna Earle (Walton) Goodman.
John graduated from Churchville (Va.) High School while his father served as minister of Loch Willow Presbyterian Church.
He served in the U. S. Army as a First Lieutenant in the Adjutant General Corps in Ft. Johnson, Louisiana.
John earned a BA degree in Philosophy from Davidson College, MDiv and MTh degrees from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, and a DMin degree from McCormick Theological Seminary.
He went on to serve as minister of Spring Hill (Va.) Presbyterian Church during which time he also served summers as Junior Camp Director at Massanetta Springs; he then served as associate minister of First Presbyterian Church of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; minister of Lydia Robson Presbyterian Church of Charleston, W.Va.; associate executive presbyter for Presbytery of West Virginia; and general presbyter for Presbytery of Coastal Carolina.
John enjoyed playing the lap dulcimer; he was a founding member of Presby Pickers, and a member and past president of the Appalachian Fiddlers Association. He also served on the board of Mountaineer Habitat (a West Virginia chapter of Habitat for Humanity) and was a founding organizer of TASTE of Ministry.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters and a brother-in-law, Caroline Goodman and Sarah and Art Glover; and a brother, Frank LeRoy Goodman, Jr. Surviving are his wife of 60 years, Laura “Tee” Hamilton Goodman; two children, John Hamilton Goodman of Weaverville, N.C. and Katharine “Katie” Le and husband Quoc Le of Reston, Va.; two granddaughters, Megan Le and Brianna Le; two nieces, one nephew and several cousins; and a special family friend, Tana Jencks.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, August 16 in Loch Willow Presbyterian Church in Churchville, officiated by the Revs. Reed Hopkins and April Cranford. Burial will follow in Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Staunton.
The family will receive friends at Loch Willow Presbyterian Church prior to the service, beginning at 12:30.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Sunnyside Communities Fellowship Fund, 600 University Blvd., Suite L, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (https://www.sunnyside.cc).
Bear Funeral Home in Churchville is serving the family. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at bearfuneralhome.com.
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