Warren R. Good

Dr. Warren R. Good Warren R. Good, Ph.D., 82, of 300 Willow Valley Lakes Drive, Willow Street, Lancaster County, formerly of Wilmington, Delaware, died Sunday at 11:20 AM in Lakeside at Willow Valley Lakes Manor, where he was a guest for the past two weeks. Born in Reamstown, Lancaster County, he was a son of the late Walter W. and Helen R. (Swartz) Good, and was the husband of Ruth A. (Witmer) Good, for 61 years on August 24, 2001. He was a member of the Willow Street United Church of Christ, and was formerly an active member of Hillcrest-Bellefonte United Methodist Church, Wilmington, DE. He was a graduate of Millersville University, completed his Masters Degree at Duke University and earned his Doctorate Degree from Temple University. He was an Army Air Force Veteran of World War II where he flew 30 bombing missions as a squadron leader with the 452nd Bomb Group, which earned highest honors and distinctions. He was a former superintendent of schools in Milton, DE; was the first principal of the Faulk Road School, a new school in 1954, a1200 student elementary school in the Alfred I. DuPont School District, Wilmington, DE, where he remained for 16 years. He later taught economics at Widener University until his retirement in 1988, when he and his wife moved to Willow Street. He was an avid environmentalist, striving for land conservation and preservation of public parklands, enjoyed reading, traveling and was a well known conversationalist. Surviving in addition to his wife are two daughter, Rena H. , married to Stephan R. Winter, Landenberg, PA; and Dr. Linda W. Good, married to William H. Elfring, Philadelphia, PA; 4 grandchildren; 2 sisters, Lorraine E. Ford, Lititz, PA; and Hannah G., married to Jan Prins, Reamstown, PA; and 2 brothers, Clarence E., married to Betty Lou (Stover) Good, Millsboro, DE; and Curtis V., married to Pat (Graybill) Good, Ephrata. A brother, Clifford H. Good, preceded him in death in 1988. Memorial Service... Warren's memorial service was held on Sunday, January 20, 2002, at 2:00 PM from his church, Willow Street United Church of Christ, 2723 Willow Street Pike, Willow Street, PA 17584, with his pastor, The Reverend Kenneth A. Burnette, officiating. The family will receive friends following the ceremony. Please refrain from sending flowers. It is the wishes of the family that Warren be remember with gifts to Hospice of Lancaster County, Post Office Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604-4125. Dr. Linda Good's Eulogy of her father... My Dad, Warren, gave our family many gifts for which we are profoundly grateful. He taught mainly by quiet example and by the way he lived his life. He was rarely "preachy" or didactic, despite his profession as an educator. He demonstrated to all our family: *The basic values of charity, honesty, and integrity. He would never say an unkind word about anyone. * The love of reading and learning. He had an ongoing curiosity about all aspects of life, including world affairs, economics, history and sports. *A respect for nature and an appreciation for the beauty of the out of doors. Treks to sight the great horned owl that lived near Willow Valley were one of his favorite past times in recent years. *A genuine enjoyment of people and openness to conversation with anyone who would cross his path. I complained as a child that if he could not find anyone he knew to talk to, he would just talk to people he didn't know. Now I appreciate what generosity and acceptance this reflected. *A knack for time, distances and capacities. He could always amaze us with his accuracy in estimating everything from driving distances to school bus capacities. My Dad was a master calculator and these skills along with the grace of God were probably what brought he and his B-17 crews back home from the War. The best lesson for us, however, has come over the past five years as we have watched how my father aged with dignity and grace, despite the losses he systematically suffered. He rarely complained and was not embittered by his growing dependence or frailty. He had a way of finding pleasure in simple things and truly enjoyed the ordinariness of everyday life. He seemed to focus just on being rather than doing. With his first stroke in 1996, he lost his ability to read and remember names-two huge sources of his day-to-day pleasure. Over the last two years his doctor signed him up for Hospice service, but he continued to be unbelievably resilient. My mother cared for him in such a dedicated, courageous, and compassionate way that he was able to stay in their apartment until two weeks before he died. Over the last few months, he always cheerfully reported to all of us that he was "still vertical." Although my father became more forgetful and less articulate over the past few months, he was able to make a choice for himself in which we all supported him. He elected to accept the Hospice offer of comfort care only, in contrast to the traditional medical model of doing everything to prolong life. He was peaceful in his last weeks and a role model for all of us. He held a quiet dignity with a lack of fear or anxiety about his own death. We had time to thank him for the legacy he has left to us, and to acknowledge him for being a wonderful husband and father. In his usual understated manner he said, "I did what I had to do." We love my Dad, because he nurtured and supported us in every way and was always so proud of us. We are also very proud of him. We are proud of the way he lived and the way he died. When our time comes and we face evitable physical losses, we pray that we remember the example of my Dad. He was a great role model for a way to live and also for a way to die without fear or anger or regrets. He will always be in our hearts and in our lives as a great teacher. We will always love him with a love that transcends death. In closing, I would like to share an insight from the book, The Greatest Gift, by Henri Nouwan. Nouwan says, the great gift hidden in our dying is the gift of unity with all people. I am thankful that my Dad is now experiencing this gift for himself and through him we are each getting a glimpse of the hereafter. Even through our community in this room as we have come to worship together, we are reflecting my Dad's final gift for us all. Thank you for your presence here with my family as we grieve his loss and celebrate new life in our relatedness to one another.