Jonathan Goodwin

News-Gazette, The: Web Edition Articles (Champaign-Urbana, IL) - Sunday, August 9, 2020

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — On Sunday, May 31, 2020, Jonathan Hall Goodwin and his lifelong love of trains boarded the 4:50 p.m. bound for heaven.

Born in Atlanta, Ga., on July 15, 1944, to the late Charles Albert Goodwin and the late Barbara Hall, he spent his earliest years on Sunday mornings with his dad, studying the main switching yard in Atlanta and becoming an avid authority on trains and railroads.

At Henry Grady High School in Atlanta, Jon served for several years as drum major in the marching band and enjoyed directing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at many of the football games.

After graduating from high school, Jon earned his undergraduate degree in geology from Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., and his Ph.D. from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Jon taught as an assistant professor at the University of Utah for six years and then began his 31-year career with the Illinois State Geological Survey in Champaign in 1976.

He was very active in his profession, doing many field excursions, editing journals, serving as interim department head and contributing to the testing and certification process for professional geologists.

He retired as senior geologist and assistant to the chief for strategy and policy. As he neared retirement in 2007, the Board of Natural Resources and Conservation honored Jon as principal geologist emeritus in recognition of his "significant contributions to the Geological Survey's programs."

Jon loved erudition and happily shared his knowledge of geology, trains and other subjects with friends and acquaintances. A lover of classical music and opera, he was an active supporter of the Sinfonia da Camera chamber orchestra at the University Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and attended operas with friends many times at the University of Illinois and at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

In 2019, he was honored at a special concert for his support of the Sinfonia orchestra over the years. His social life included many gatherings with friends in the Dining Out and Alternate Current social groups in Champaign-Urbana.

Jon's passion for railroads and their history led him to take many journeys with friends on famous trains and special rail trips to historic sites, especially ones sponsored by the WILL public TV and radio station at the university.

In July 2019, Jon moved to Winston-Salem, N.C., to be near his family and settled at Heritage Woods, a senior living complex, where he made many friends and held many roles, including secretary of the Resident Council, facilitator of "Brain Games" and trivia games, and director of the Lifelong Learning video program.

Asked of his philosophy on life, his response was, "Enjoy life as best you can in whatever way you can." An obviously brilliant man, he stated that he wished more people understood the importance of geology in our existence.

Did you know that each day, 17 tons of crushed stone per person are used to build highways, buildings and swimming pools and is spread over dirt roads?

Preceding him in death were his parents of Atlanta; sister, Priscilla Goodwin Bennett of Marietta, Ga.; and brother-in-law, Roscoe Earl Luke of Winston-Salem.

He will be missed by his sister, Constance Goodwin Luke, two nieces and their husbands, two grandnephews and one grandniece, all of Winston-Salem; brother-in-law, John Allen Bennett, three nephews and their wives, two grandnephews and one wife and two grandnieces, all of Marietta; and many dear friends who were like family to him.

He is missed and remembered fondly. He was interred at Crestlawn Memorial Park, Atlanta, on July 11.