Obituary for Kenneth Howard Goodman
Kenneth Goodman, who most recently lived in the Enclave Building in Atlantic City, passed away suddenly on Monday, October 18th. He is survived by his beloved wife, Jenny Wagner and daughters Lily and Abby Goodman, and by his mother Natalie Goodman, and his sisters Marcia Goodman (Hiroyoshi Noto) of Chicago, IL and Miriam Goodman (David Lenzi) of Menlo Park, CA and by his niece, Akana Noto and two nephews, Eli Noto and Marco Lenzi.
Ken was born in Washington D.C. and moved to the Boston area when he was 4 years old. His family settled in Lexington, MA where he went through Elementary and Middle School and graduated from Lexington High School in 1974. He attended Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts (which is where he met Jenny). He graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and Theater in 1978.
He worked as a cabinet maker of high-end kitchens for several years, and returned to school at Yale University where he completed an MBA in 1983. He worked in telecommunication for most of his career, for many years at Tuft University (where he worked at both the Medford and Boston campuses). He left Tufts in 1999 to focus on family and also worked on various professional projects over the years.
Ken and Jenny met at Williams College doing theater and married in 1983. They first lived together in the Boston area, settling in Brookline, MA for many years. Their daughter Lily was born in 1989 followed by Abby in 1993. Ken loved his entire family completely and fiercely. He was an active parent and beloved by his daughters’ childhood friends who spent many after school hours with him. He was a member of the Driscoll School of Brookline PTA, the treasurer of the Band Boosters at Mainland High School of Linwood, NJ, among other community service roles. Ken and Jenny were involved in their Jewish Community, as members of Temple Sinai in Brookline, MA and as members of Shirat Hayam in Ventnor, NJ.
Ken was an integral part of his wife Jenny’s career, as she was a Professor then Associate Dean of Business at UMass Boston. They moved to New Jersey in 2007 for Jenny to become the Founding Dean of Business at Stockton College, a position she held for 12 years. Jenny still works at Stockton, now as Professor of Computer Science and Information Systems.
Ken had wide ranging interests. He followed politics avidly, and volunteered for several local candidates. He played the string bass and loved music ranging from classical (he loved Bach cello concertos), to opera, to folk (he followed the folk scene in Boston when they lived there), to the Beatles, and he actually knew the bands who are currently on Saturday Night Live, unlike many of his contemporaries and his younger sister. Many a 7 p .m. hour would find Ken and Jenny watching Jeopardy. Not many readers will know “who is Juan Manuel Fangio?” or “what is the Hanseatic League?” --- but Ken knew those and many more. Ken and Jenny continued to follow theater as they could, and may be among the last people in South Jersey who still go to see movies in a theater. Ken did volunteer work, most recently working with clients and advocacy with the Eastern Service Workers Association, in Pleasantville, NJ which was a newer cause but one that quickly became near and dear to his heart. He spent his last morning happily engaged with successfully fixing the computers at EWSA. Ken was a kind and loving husband, father, son, brother, and uncle and a loyal and true friend, and was in touch with friends from Lexington, Williams, and Brookline as well as newer friends in New Jersey. Contributions in his memory may be made to ESWA at 609-646-9814 or American Diabetes Association.
Ken was born in Washington D.C. and moved to the Boston area when he was 4 years old. His family settled in Lexington, MA where he went through Elementary and Middle School and graduated from Lexington High School in 1974. He attended Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts (which is where he met Jenny). He graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and Theater in 1978.
He worked as a cabinet maker of high-end kitchens for several years, and returned to school at Yale University where he completed an MBA in 1983. He worked in telecommunication for most of his career, for many years at Tuft University (where he worked at both the Medford and Boston campuses). He left Tufts in 1999 to focus on family and also worked on various professional projects over the years.
Ken and Jenny met at Williams College doing theater and married in 1983. They first lived together in the Boston area, settling in Brookline, MA for many years. Their daughter Lily was born in 1989 followed by Abby in 1993. Ken loved his entire family completely and fiercely. He was an active parent and beloved by his daughters’ childhood friends who spent many after school hours with him. He was a member of the Driscoll School of Brookline PTA, the treasurer of the Band Boosters at Mainland High School of Linwood, NJ, among other community service roles. Ken and Jenny were involved in their Jewish Community, as members of Temple Sinai in Brookline, MA and as members of Shirat Hayam in Ventnor, NJ.
Ken was an integral part of his wife Jenny’s career, as she was a Professor then Associate Dean of Business at UMass Boston. They moved to New Jersey in 2007 for Jenny to become the Founding Dean of Business at Stockton College, a position she held for 12 years. Jenny still works at Stockton, now as Professor of Computer Science and Information Systems.
Ken had wide ranging interests. He followed politics avidly, and volunteered for several local candidates. He played the string bass and loved music ranging from classical (he loved Bach cello concertos), to opera, to folk (he followed the folk scene in Boston when they lived there), to the Beatles, and he actually knew the bands who are currently on Saturday Night Live, unlike many of his contemporaries and his younger sister. Many a 7 p .m. hour would find Ken and Jenny watching Jeopardy. Not many readers will know “who is Juan Manuel Fangio?” or “what is the Hanseatic League?” --- but Ken knew those and many more. Ken and Jenny continued to follow theater as they could, and may be among the last people in South Jersey who still go to see movies in a theater. Ken did volunteer work, most recently working with clients and advocacy with the Eastern Service Workers Association, in Pleasantville, NJ which was a newer cause but one that quickly became near and dear to his heart. He spent his last morning happily engaged with successfully fixing the computers at EWSA. Ken was a kind and loving husband, father, son, brother, and uncle and a loyal and true friend, and was in touch with friends from Lexington, Williams, and Brookline as well as newer friends in New Jersey. Contributions in his memory may be made to ESWA at 609-646-9814 or American Diabetes Association.