William (Bill) Goodman
William (Bill) Goodman passed away on May 26, 2023 at the age of 88. He was born to James and Dorothy Goodman in Tekamah, Nebraska on August 2, 1934. Bill graduated from Tekamah High School in 1952 and attended Nebraska Wesleyan University for 2 years majoring in Engineering. He joined the Navy in 1954 to become a pilot, passed all the tests but his eyesight kept him from achieving pilot status. He was also in the Air National Guard for two years. He worked at the Lawrence Livermore Lab in Mechanical Engineering for 30 years and retired in 1999.
Bill was very active in sports in Livermore, as well as coached CYO basketball for St. Michaels, Little League Minor, Majors & Big League where they won the District Championship. He also made two half-court shots on separate nights at the Livermore High Gym, making money for the Boosters Club. Soon after joining Lawrence Livermore Lab in 1963, Bill joined a lobball softball team at the lab, there were ten men’s lobball teams in the league. He soon entered the lobball player/manager ranks and grew the program to 55 men’s and coed teams and over a thousand participants serving as the Chairman of the LLLRA Lobball leagues since 1972 and the LLLRA Lobball Advisory Committee since its inception in 1984. Bill received a Volunteer Award from the Associate Director and President of LLLRA Board of Directors in 1990 along with a proclamation acknowledging his unofficial title as ‘The Father of LLLRA Lobball’.
Bill is survived by his wife, Judy of 64 years and their four children: Susan Goodman (Alan), Jamie Schlieper, Kent Goodman (Carley) and Kimberly Head (Brad). He is also survived by his six grandchildren: Devon Schlieper, Lexi Schlieper, Samantha Goodman, Michael Goodman, Scott Goodman and Kassidy Head.
He was proceeded in death by his sister, Shirley Cutler (Jack).
Bill adored his family and lifelong friends and he and his wife were blessed to still belong to the same card party group from Livermore for over fifty years.
The family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra at disabledsportseasternsierra.org.
