Edmond F. Goodwin

Edmond F. Goodwin III, age 94, passed away peacefully on December 25, 2020 of Waldenstrom’s Lymphoma with his loving family by his side.

Edmond was born on August 25, 1926 in the Garfield Park Hospital in Chicago, IL to Edmond and Janette Goodwin. He lived on Fulton Street and Kedzie near where his father owned the “Goodwin Motor Service Company” on Lake Street. Edmond (called “Bud”) and his sister, Ruth, attended Bieler Grade School.

In May of 1936, when Bud was nine years old, his father was hit and killed by a car on Lake Street. His mother placed Ruth in the Eleanor Club for Girls and Bud in the Lawrence Hall in Chicago, an orphanage for boys, as she ran the business. In 1941, after his mother remarried, they lived in Oak Park and attended Oak Park High School. In February of 1945, Ed was drafted into the United States Army, serving in the Army for 22 months with the 800th Police Battalion in Japan.

After returning home, Ed attended the University of Chicago with the GI Bill for two years while playing baseball for their collegiate team. He then graduated from Iowa State Teachers College in 1952 with a degree in mathematics. He dedicated his career to teaching math and coaching; first in Central City, Iowa, then in Palatine, Illinois, with his remaining thirty-three years in the Crystal Lake High Schools. While teaching at Crystal Lake High Schools, he coached several boys and girls’ athletic teams and won several girls softball and basketball conference championships. Recognizing the lack of opportunities for girls to play summer softball, Ed started a summer softball league for girls, receiving an award in 1981 for being the founder of the girls’ summer Crystal Lake Softball League. While teaching in Iowa, Ed met the love of his life, Barbara Dolan. They were married in 1956 in Prairieburg, Iowa. Ed loved spending time with his four children Joan, Pam, Mary and Jim.

Ed loved spending his summers on Lake Geneva, where he worked as the waterfront director for eight years at Conference Point Camp and twenty-three
years at George Williams College Camp.

In his later years, Ed enjoyed playing tennis at the racket club, playing until he was 89 years old, only stopping after suffering a knee injury. He continued to enjoy spending his mornings with his wife at the Health Bridge fitness center working out and visiting with friends. Last April, he and his wife spent 10 days in the hospital recovering from Covid-19. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Ed is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Barbara Goodwin (nee Dolan); his loving children, Joan/Siri Khalsa, Pam (Kevin) Kennedy, Mary Goodwin, and Jim (Nancy) Goodwin; cherished grandchildren, Dev, Amrit, Kate, Sara, Christopher, Matthew, Curtis, and Kelli; and eight great-grandchildren.

Preceded in death by his parents, Edmond and Janette Goodwin and his sister, Ruth Crouch.

A visitation for Edmond will be held from 8:30 AM -10:00 AM on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave. (Rte. 176), Crystal Lake, IL 60014. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place following the visitation (10:30AM) at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Crystal Lake, IL. Burial to follow at 1:00 PM at Windridge Cemetery.