In Memory

We thank you all for your shared memories on Gene Goodin , his life, and time at PBPC. May the peace of the Lord be with you.

It has been an honor to have known such a good man. I introduced him to friends who wanted to meet a person who lived such an interesting life. Afterwards one of them said he wished he had a life like Gene's. They were saddened when they heard of his passing 

I am Gene's niece Kerry again. I needed to say more about Gene. I know he loved to paint. And he was so proud of his paintings. He did one of a war plane for my son Brian. He just loved it. He painted a sunset for me. And many for my mom. Which I have now. He had a stroke yrs back and it affected his right hand. But he was so determined he was able to find his strength to paint. He was so happy when he sold them all at the art shows. He would send me and my mom the daily bread. He put lilies on Easter and poinsettias at Christmas for his mother and Janice, my mom and Aunt Margie. He was a thoughtful man. I love and miss him. RIP🙏 Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S9.

I am missing Uncle Gene. I am Kerry his sister Janice's daughter. My mom was the middle sibling. She past away 2016 Dec. 91yrs. I would talk to my uncle on the phone. Send him cards on Holidays and just because also. He was a great very respected man. He loved his friends and family and he loved God and the church. I remember when I was little and he would visit us. He was so funny making us laugh. He had a quick wit. A great since of humor. He could make anyone smile. We would love to hear about his days in the military. Last time he was here tell his experiences during the war. He was very interesting. He race drag boats.  Love cars and really lived a full life. He love his family and friends. And he really loved his church and God. I always sent him religious calendars at Christmas. I am so proud he was my Uncle. And now he is with God and his sisters. I will miss our talks. Blessings to all who knew him. Kerry Skieff ❤❤❤🙏

Dear Pastor Chris,  With Pastor Patrick and Pastor Quinn on Sabbatical and all of us away from the church, we wanted to reach out to you and the congregation of PBPC. We send our deepest sympathy and heartfelt gratitude to God for the amazing life of Gene Goodin. He was loved and he will be missed.  We were in touch with Carol after we heard the news of Gene's passing from Colleen and Jerry Cambra. Carol shared the video of the Memorial Service. Thanks to Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church members and staff for putting together a lovely space to honor and remember Gene. You gracefully handled the technology in order to bring folks together to remember a dear man. We enjoyed watching and hearing the stories of Gene's remarkable life. We were not aware that he was an artist! We pray for your congregation as it is a huge loss.  Prayers for all of you in the difficult season of pandemic, separation, pain, and loss. Blessings,  Katie Garrett for the Christ Church Pastors ...

I was one of the blessed recipients of annual birthday and Christmas wishes. Gene never forgot and over the years it was so appreciated. My most vivid memory of Gene was his willingness to quietly lend a hand. After serving a memorial reception or Sunday cookie hospitality, he would stay behind after others had departed the church foyer. One by one he would move the chairs and vacuum the crumbs from the floor, then return them neatly to sit at their place under the tables. He served humbly, doing what he could to help, observing what needed to be done and without asking he would step up for the task at hand. When he was called to care for a friend in Oakland, he quietly left and without fanfare took on another way to serve others. God will surely have a special place in heaven for Gene. A job well done, my friend. Janet Herrin, Lincoln Hills Community Church.

Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse my brevity, and enjoy my phone's autocorrects! Begin forwarded message: From: George Gilchrist Date: May 24, 2020 at 9:58:21 PM PDT Subject: Thanks for the Memorial Service, Gene Goodin (today) May 24, 2020 Dear Chris, members of PBPC Team, friends, members of PBPC, As "memorial services go," Gene Goodin's service today at noon was a "15" on a "1-10" scale." What a great opportunity for us to celebrate his life. For me, it was a chance to "walk down memory lane" about the times I served as Interim/Transitional pastor and learned from Gene's example. Another of one of his great works was his "Balloon Outreach" in which early every Sunday morning, he would attach several colorful balloons to the church's A-frame signs and place them on Park Boulevard. (I have told the same story to the churches I have subsequently served  as Interim pastor &  for many of those c...

My name is Wray Jene Raleigh (Goodin) Gene's daughter. My family, my husband and my two grown children live in the Northwest. We are outside of Seattle in Redmond, WA. With Covid 19 we were unable to travel to be with Dad. Being long distance has created some difficulty in getting things accomplished for Dad's burial. I want to personally thank Kristina Kvalnes for all that she has done for our family on behalf of Dad. Kristina has gone above and beyond and taken a huge burden off of our shoulders. Kristina, you are a saint and so appreciated by our entire family. I also want to thank Pastor Chris Coon for everything he has done to help us through this difficult time. You are very fortunate to have him as your Pastor. I had a typo in my earlier message regarding my father. He came to visit in 1996 when he attended the Presbyterian Church with me, possibly 1995. Many Blessings, Wray Raleigh

My heart is saddened at this time for the loss of my father Gene Goodin. He found complete happiness with Our heavenly Father and the Presbyterian Faith. My Father came to visit me in Spokane, Wa approximately in the year of 1986. I was attending the Presbyterian Church in Spokane, was not a member but thoroughly enjoyed the scripture and Faith of the parishioners. I took my Father to Church and something magical happened to him. When we returned home he said, I loved your church and was really taken by the scripture. He indicated that he is been looking all his life for the feelings he experienced in Church that morning. I was so happy for him and he came several times all summer to visit and attend the church with me. He then decided to join the Presbyterian Church in Oakland as he knew he had truly found the church for the rest of his life. I was very happy for him and he jumped in with both feet, as I imagine quite a few of you have witnessed. We talked about his f...

My name is Graig, Gene Goodin's son. My father was a very special person to me. He has been my hero for all of my life. His love for Wray and myself, his calmness and easy personality gave us a very positive outlooks on our lives as children. This later gave us the feeling of acceptance from my dad. We became very good friends and had good relationships as adults.   As we grew in our lives we all became a warm, loving family. I will miss the things we had together, the help and care that we had with him. His friends and family all thought highly of him and he will be dearly missed.  Blessings to all who knew and loved him. My best to you, Graig Goodin (Chase)

Gene at 2007 Christmas Service

Hello, thank you all for honoring my grandfather. I know he loved and cherished each and every one of you. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with grandpa Gene, as I was a little older when I met him, but the time I did spend with him will not be forgotten. He was certainly amazing. A man of god, friend to all he met, and devoted family man. My brother took the story I wanted to tell (that drive from the lake has stuck with me for a very long time!), so I will tell you about when he met my son. My ex husband was deployed, so I was alone when I gave birth to my youngest, Tyler. So my mom and grandpa came to visit for a few days. Tyler was so tiny, and grandpa was so tall and skinny that they looked pretty adorable or together. He spent much of that time holding Tyler and giving me a break. And to this day we still received cards for every occasion, and Tyler always looked forward to them. Thank you again for being such a huge part of my grandpa's life, and for ho I ring him...

I'm Aaron Regan, Gene Goodin's grandson (Wray's son) in Seattle, WA. First off thanks to your whole church community for the love you gave Grandpa Gene. I know he really had a sense of belonging, faith, and family in your church. I didn't know Grandpa Gene until my teenage years, and we unfortunately only saw each other occasionally since. I still remember when we first met, which was probably 1991. My older sister Sunni had just gotten her first car. A small little Isuzu stick shift. We were out at the lake cabin we had, and when it was time to head home, we had him come back with us in her car, while our parents took theirs. I must have been 14. Grandpa Gene decided to drive, something the young Gene loved to do. Along the windy, back roads that weaved the lakeshore towards home, he decided to give us a "driving lesson". He very aggressively showed us how to go into turns high to come out low, and vice versa, and at one point said if you really go...

The veterans of VFW Post 8063 in Lafayette, CA and local Boy Scouts will remember Gene Goodin on Memorial Day 2020. A few years ago Eagle Scout Alexander Kolm interviewed Gene about his WWII service as part of the Veterans History Project. The recording is archived at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. Scout Kolm will recite the following on Memorial Day:   Eugene Goodin. Sgt US Army. 501st Parachute Infantry. 101st Airborne. 16th Armored Div. WWII theaters: Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, Rhineland. Gene Goodin passed May 16, 2020.   The following information about Gene is available at: https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.107155   Rev. Cynthia Towle Kephart Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Alameda ctowlekephart@gmail.com 925.788.4120

From Cynthia Wichelman

It was a privilege to work alongside such a dedicated and faithful man. It was also humbling - he always looked so good! Here is Gene in his tuxedo, ready to greet everyone at the entrance to Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church on Christmas Eve, 2019.