Mr. Goodman, 91, died at his home on Saturday. He was the son of Ora J. and Mary Julia Droll Goodman. He married Violet Pearl Webb on January 10, 1947. He was a WWII veteran, serving in the U.S. Navy. He served on two ships during the war, the USS Allen M. Sumner and the USS Dixie. After the war, he worked as a carpenter, farmer, and owner and operator of Wayne Feed Store for over 15 years. He was a member of St. John Catholic Church, in which he was very involved. He loved his church, beekeeping, organic farming, and raising cattle, and he loved singing and spending time with his family and friends.

He is survived by his eleven children, Michele, James, Barbara, Mary, Patricia, Rosemary, Susan, Janet, Deborah, Kathryn, and John; 27 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, a brother, Paul and a sister Ruth Ann; several nieces and nephews, and devoted friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, one son, Philip, and one daughter, Martha Jane, a grandson, and seven sisters.
A funeral mass will be at 11 am. Friday, at the St. John The Apostle Catholic Church with Father Daniel Mahan officiating. Burial will follow. Visitation will be Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Allen Funeral Home, and Friday 10 a.m. to service time at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. John Catholic Church.

For tree farmers, it's about the Christmas spirit
December 1, 2001
For tree farmer Bernie Goodman, the business of selling
Christmas trees are more about the holiday than the money.
Bernie and his wife, Violet, have sold trees from their 12-acre
farm at 1690 W. Williams Road in northwest Monroe County every
December since 1963.
Their price policy is simple.
"We charge $2 per foot," Bernie said. "I have stuck in the yard
marked by the foot so folks can measure their trees."
Along with cut-rate prices, the Goodmans also offer a return
policy.
"A few years ago, a man bought a tree and asked if he could
return it if his wife didn't care for it," said Violet, "and we
agreed."
As expected, the wife disliked the tree and came back with her
husband to select a better one.
"We left her alone," Violet said, laughing, "and she wandered
around until she found the perfect tree. She never knew it, but
she'd picked out the same tree her husband brought back. The man
asked me to keep the secret, and I've never told anyone until
now."
Low prices and an easy return policy set Goodman's tree lot
apart from most others, but it's unique in one other way.
"If someone can't afford to spend $2 a foot for a tree, we just
give it to them," Bernie admitted.
"That's the best part of the business," Violet said.
"If I see an old car pull up filled with little kids and I can
tell buying a tree is going to deprive those kids of something
else, I let them pick their favorite tree and then just give it
to them."
But the Christmas spirit works both ways.
The Goodmans have 11 children, and Violet was always happy when
grateful customers returned a few days later to give her a fresh
baked pie or a loaf of warm homemade bread.
Over the years, Bernie has noticed a trait among tree shoppers.
Those with the smallest cars buy the biggest trees. After nearly
four decades in the business, he's learned to adapt.
"I can tie a tree onto anything that moves," he said, "even a
Volkswagen Beetle."
After selling up to 500 trees in a good year, Bernie and Violet
are closing their tree farm in January.
"It's just getting too hard to plant new trees each year," said
Bernie, now 76. "And it's not easy to feel the holiday spirit
when you're trimming the trees on a hot July day and getting
stung by wasps."
Between now and Christmas, he has only one message for his final
customers.
"If they can't afford to pay $2 a foot, they can have a tree for free

The Herald Times, January 25. 2017