ELWOOD GOODSON
Dec. 22, 1922 - Oct. 21, 2005
Mount Olive Resident
Elwood Goodson, 82, died Friday, October 21, 2005.
Born December 22, 1922, in rural Duplin County, he was the second son of Charles E. and Lenoir Smith Goodson. He attended B. F. Grady School and graduated from Calypso High School in 1940. In December of 1941, he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps and participated in the initial battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in 1942.
Elwood was a member of the First Baptist Church of Mount Olive. He was a past member of the Mount Olive Board of Commissioners and the Wayne County Economic Development Commission. He was a 50-year member of the William G. Hill Masonic Lodge in Raleigh, the Scottish Rite Bodies, and the Sudan Temple Shrine.
He was a contractor and operated Wayne Home Improvement Company along with Eastern Aluminum Supply Company until his retirement in 1986.
He was appointed to the N. C. Highway Commission by then Governor Jim Martin on December 29, 1986, and served until 1992. He will be most remembered for his dedication to the local highway projects that include the Smithfield/Selma Bypass, the Southern Connector south of Goldsboro, the four-lane expansion of Highway 117 from Highway 13 to Mount Olive, and the building of Highway 117 on new location to the intersection of Interstate 40 at Faison. He was awarded the N.C. Road Gang Award on September 1, 1992, by the Secretary of Transportation, Thomas Harrelson.
He was honored June 14, 1991, at an Appreciation Dinner by the Town of Mount Olive where he was presented North Carolina's highest civilian honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, by then Governor Jim Martin.
He was an ardent sportsman that included hunting, fishing, golf, and baseball. He was a loyal fan of the Atlanta Braves.
Elwood is survived by his son, Elwood Goodson Jr. of Goldsboro; two daughters, Cherrie G. Yount and husband, Benny, of Hickory, Kathy G. Moeller and husband, Mark, of Raleigh; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; a brother, Keith Goodson and wife, Janet, of Virginia; a sister, Norma Floars and husband, Bobby, of Goldsboro; 11 nieces and nephews; and two dear friends, Eddie and Francis Knox of Charlotte.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Katherine Outlaw Goodson; two brothers, Charles E. Goodson Jr. and Douglas Goodson; one sister, Mary Weldon Noble; and one grandson Sam Kincaid,
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Sunday (today), October 23, 2005, at Tyndall Funeral Home Chapel in Mount Olive. The Rev. Frank Harrison will officiate.
The family requests that memorials be made to Kitty Askins Hospice Center, 107 Handley Park Court, Goldsboro, N.C., 27534.
(Written & Paid by the Family)
Published in Obituaries on October 23, 2005 10:10 AM