Garland O. Goodwin

Published 1:57 pm Monday, August 5, 2024

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . . 

“reached out my hand and touched the face of God” on August 4th. 

-High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Garland Goodwin passed away on Sunday, August 4, 2024. Garland was born April 7, 1930, in Durham, N.C., to Garland O. Sr. and Coline Rippy

He graduated as Valedictorian from Tryon High School in 1947. He served in the US Air Force for six years, serving in San Antonio, Texas., Bellville, Illinois, Louisiana, and Waco, Texas, where he met Fran. They were married on December 22, 1954, in Waco. After being discharged, he attended Northrop Aero Institute in Inglewood, California, getting an Assoc. Degree in Aero Engineering, and also attended the University of Texas in Arlington. He worked as an Engineer for over 30 years at Convair, Ling Tempo Vought, etc. He retired in 1988 and moved to Columbus, NC.

He was predeceased by his grandparents, his Dad and Mother, his brother Bill, nephews Steven and Loren Goodwin, the brothers he chose, Bill Weller, Jim North, and Bob Isenhart, and Fran’s Mom, Dad, and two of her brothers.

He is survived by his wife of 70 years of the home; a son, Thomas (Judy Stroud) in Hendersonville; another son, Claude; a daughter, Sharon (Keith) Koontz in Virginia Beach; grandchildren Carol Ann Robertson, Kelsey Taylor Koontz and Austin Koontz; great-grandchildren Corinna and Ray Lee; a brother he chose, Hal Whidden, and a sister he also chose, Judy North and Terry, a brother of Fran’s.

After retiring, he became a Columnist for the Tryon Daily Bulletin and Prime Time in Hendersonville. He has published eight books of his columns. He was very active in the Columbus Lions Club, the Western NC Air Museum in Hendersonville, and the Carolinas Chapter of the PTG and was a member of Tryon First Baptist Church.

The Memorial Service will be held at Tryon First Baptist Church on Saturday, August 10, at 2 p.m., conducted by Dr. Jeff Harris and Dr. Darryl Maxwell, and at Hampton Baptist Church in Hampton, Va., by Dr. Chester Brown. His body has been donated to The Body Farm at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN.

If you wish, memorials can be made to the Thermal Belt Outreach, Columbus for Children’s Glasses, or the Western NC Air Museum, Gilbert Street, Hendersonville, N.C.

-Fran Goodwin