Ron Gooden, 1942-2010
Ronald R. Gooden, 67, of 16 Blackberry Lane, Palmyra, died Sunday February 14, 2010, in the MS Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was the husband of Billie J. Maxwell Gooden with whom he celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary this past Wednesday. Born in McPherson, Kansas, on October 14, 1942, he was the son of the late Ralph T. and Nina Lea Rush Gooden.
Ron retired in 1980 as a musician with 20 years of service in the U.S. Navy. He served during the Vietnam era and completed 13 campaigns and traveled all over the world, living on a ship for 13 of those 20 years. His last Duty Station was in Instrument Repair. He retired again after 15 years of service with the Veterans Administration as a Computer Analyst in Austin, TX.
Ron was a graduate of East High School, Wichita, Kansas, and Wichita State University. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, Lebanon, where he formerly served as church organist and choir director. As a professional musician, he played piano, all brass, and all percussion; and he and his wife were one-time members of the Mormon Choir of Washington, DC. He also enjoyed studying family history and genealogy.
Surviving in addition to his wife are two sons, Randall W. Gooden, husband of Ramona Garcia of Chicago, Illinois; and Shawn C. Gooden, husband of Rebecca Gooden of Palmyra; a daughter, Christina L. Durbin of Wichita, Kansas; 12 grandchildren – Veronica, Gilbert, Michael, Katherine, David, Tiffany, Teresa, Jonathan, Matthew, Sarah, Annie, and Jacob; and 5 great-grandchildren: Natalie, Emily, Michael, Jr., Isaiah, and Liam.
Memorial services will be held on Saturday, March 13, 2010, at 11:00 AM from the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, 7011 E. 13th Street Wichita, KS with Bishop Rather officiating.
Interment was held in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery with Full Military Honors.
The Tribute to Navy Veterans originally published here on 11/11/20 has been updated to include Ron’s service. You can see the article by going to Community, page 3 (numbers are at the bottom of each page), or by going to Categories on the right hand side of this page and scrolling down to Veterans.
Ron participated actively in musical and theater performances while a student at East. He portrayed one of the Von Trapp children in East High’s The Sound of Music.
From left: Kathy Knee ’60 as Maria, Ron Gooden ’60, Sharon Martin’61, Marcia Benjamin ’60, Bob Briscoe ’61, and Sally Campbell ’60.
