Marvin Wilbur Goodman died on March 10, 2021, at Westchester Village of Lenexa at the age of 98 years and 1 day. Marvin was born March 9, 1923, to William Eli Goodman and Lillian Goldansky Goodman in Kansas City, Missouri. He spent his childhood in Kansas City with a large close family and enjoyed many boyhood summers in Times Beach, Missouri, working for his aunt and uncle.
Marvin was preceded in death by his parents William Eli Goodman and Lillian Goldansky Goodman; his brother Shale Goodman; sister Sonah Goodman Matthies; nephew Steven Goodman; his first wife Helen Mason Goodman; his second wife Barbara Cartella Goodman; and his special friend Norma. He is survived by niece Carol Ritter; niece Frances Collins and husband Gary Collins; nephew Fredric Goodman and wife Roz Goodman; and Carol Frana wife of nephew Steven Goodman; and many great nieces and nephews.
Love of music was always part of his very active lifestyle. At Central High School in Kansas City, he participated in the band as a clarinet player. Graduation was midyear January 23, 1941. Kansas City Junior College occupied his time until January 23, 1943, when he enlisted in the United States Army. After basic training he was sent to England and assigned to the Army’s Quartermaster Graves Registration. A few weeks after the initial landings in Omaha and Utah beaches, he and his fellow soldiers landed and commenced the duty of locating and tending to the many fallen soldiers. Over the ensuing months his unit worked its way to concentration camps and continued their duty. After two years of service, Marvin returned to Kansas City on December 31, 1945, to try and return to normalcy.
His first marriage soon followed and then he enrolled at Central Missouri State where he graduated on May 24, 1950, with a Bachelor of Science degree in education with special preparation in mathematics. Mathematical ability was a valuable trait for his career with his brother at the Shale H. Goodman Company. Marvin was very proud of his academic and professional work and was a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, CPCU. Following his retirement, he continued to stay busy writing, giving seminars on the insurance business and finally working for a few years at American Century in Kansas City.
Marvin got his love of the United States of America from his father, William Eli Goodman. William was born in Moscow in 1878 and after emigrating to the United Sates he joined the Army and served in the Spanish-American war, mostly in the Philippines. William never became a citizen, so Marvin worked for years trying to obtain citizenship for his father based on military service; he was unsuccessful. Still, whenever the Star-Spangled Banner came on the radio, William insisted everyone be at attention. The American Legion membership was very important to Marvin. On the 2019 V-Day celebration at the American Legion in Lenexa, Marvin was honored in recognition of his service to our country.
Marvin’s love of music was reflected in his passion for dance. He danced for decades, even after he was fitted with a prosthesis for his leg. That only slowed him for a while and thereafter he went to many of the senior dances throughout Johnson County as a favorite partner of many for as long as he could get out on the floor.
The Goodman family thanks Linda Meadows and her staff at Okelani Home Health Care for their dedicated service and support and the staff at Westchester Village of Lenexa and Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care of Kansas City. Their care for Marvin and support for the family was a blessing.
Arrangements will be provided by the Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri with spreading of the ashes to be at Unity Village, Missouri, in the Rose Garden, on a date to be announced. Contributions in memory of Marvin may be made to any charity of one’s choice.
