Obituaries

Harley William "Bill" Goodman

Photo of Harley William "Bill" Goodman
Harley William "Bill" Goodman Jr. died on February 18, 2016 of the complications of a long full life in Little Rock, Ark. at the age of 87. Bill is survived by his wife, Molly; children, Liz Goodman, Iowa City, Iowa, Anne Massey, Little Rock, Susan Robinson, Fayetteville; grandchildren, Sharla and Jay Massey, Leigh Anne Robinson, and one great-grandson. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harley and Mildred Goodman, sisters Annebel Monnett of Tulsa and Roberta Goodman of Fort Smith. Bill was born on July 20, 1928 in Tulsa, Okla. His family later moved to Fort Smith. He attended the University of Arkansas, graduating in 1950 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. Following graduation, he served in the Army Signal Corps as Platoon Leader in a unit that was charged with maintaining telephone communication during the Korean War. After his military service, he worked 4 years as a sales liaison for a company that manufactured parts for the oil business in Texas. In 1956, he returned to Fort Smith and was employed by his father's wholesale plumbing and HVAC product business, Goodman Supply Co. In the summer of 1957, he was set up for a blind date with Molly Bolling (Kappa Kappa Gamma) of Alma by their mutual friends, Harper (Sigma Nu) and Adele (Kappa Kappa Gamma) Jackson. Bill's first questions to Molly were "do you like baseball and do you like beer?" She replied that she did. They were married about six weeks after they met. A year later their first daughter, Liz, was born in Fort Smith. Bill remained devoted to Molly for the next 58 plus years. In 1960, Bill started his own consulting engineer firm in Fort Smith. In 1963, he moved his business and family (3 daughters by that time) to Little Rock. He joined the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) in 1962. This began more than 40 years of service to the organization. He served on the state (President of Arkansas Chapter 1969-1970), regional (2 three-year terms as Region VIII director) and national/international levels. In recognition of his work and service to ASHRAE, he received three Region VIII Energy Awards and an ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award and was elevated to the grade of ASHRAE Fellow in 1988 and Life Member in 1992. His service to ASHRAE culminated as President in 1999-2000. For one year, he and Molly travelled the world visiting ASHRAE chapters on 5 continents, including Australia, Brazil, India, Thailand, Great Britain, France, Canada and Mexico. Throughout his more than 40-year career as an engineer, he specialized in health care facilities. He did extensive work on the hospitals at UAMS. It was only fitting that his life ended there. Bill was a long-time member of Second Presbyterian Church and an active Rotarian. He served as President of the West Little Rock Rotary Club in 1988-89. He was a member of the Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering. When he wasn't working or serving various organizations, Bill and the family could be found at Lake Ouachita during the summers. He was an excellent operator of a ski boat and spent endless hours pulling his daughters and their friends around the lake. He never learned to waterski, but made a few valiant and hilarious attempts to do so. He also enjoyed the quiet times fishing on Lake Ouachita and other nearby lakes. During the fall, he was a faithful follower of the Razorback football team. Spring weekends were devoted to Razorback basketball and trips to Oaklawn. He was fortunate enough to attend the Razorback National Championship basketball game in 2004 and his last trip to the track was the 2015 Arkansas Derby where he saw eventual Triple Crown winner American Pharoah win. Bill was also a long-time St. Louis Cardinals fan. Funeral services will be at Second Presbyterian Church at 3 p.m. on Monday, February 22, 2016. A reception at the church will follow. Burial will be at Gracelawn Cemetery in Van Buren. The family asks that memorial donations be made to University of Arkansas Dept. of Mechanical Engineering to assist HVAC students in travelling and attending conferences, such as ASHRAE. Donations can be made in the following ways: Checks by mail: Payable to University of Arkansas Foundation – Mechanical Engineering 863 W. Dickson Street, Fayetteville, Ark. 72701. The memo line should include Mr. Goodman's name and the purpose, "to assist HVAC students with travel and conferences." Online giving at https://onlinegiving.uark.edu/ under designation, select College of Engineering. Complete the information regarding an honor gift. Under comments, please include Department of Mechanical Engineering and intended purpose. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.

Published February 19, 2016

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