Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Shang's Obit in The Enterprise
[From The Falmouth Enterprise, Tuesday, April 8, 2008, p 2 & 3. No byline, but a comment on isen.blog's first Shang story by Enterprise sailboat race reporter Janet Chalmers says she wrote it. Nice job, Janet.]
[UPDATE April 10: Janet Chalmers sent me her "as written" obituary, which contains some charming descriptive language that the editors of the Enterprise cut. One paragraph in particular stands out; I've included it in square brackets below the published one -- search for Chalmers' Original. The Enterprise edits, in my opinion, make the obit significantly less interesting, and certainly reduce the way it conveys Shang's essence.]
Charles Goodwin III
Charles Goodwin III, a lifelong summer resident of Quissett and Woods Hole, died of pancreatic cancer on April 1 at his home in Baltimore, Maryland. He was 84.
Mr. Goodwin was the husband for 39 years of Charlotte Moseley Ober-Lord Goodwin.
The son of F. Lawrence Goodwin and Frances K. Goodwin, Mr. Goodwin was born December 21, 1923, in Baltimore and raised in that city’s Guilford section. He was a Gilman School graduate and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Brown University in 1947 and a master of education from Harvard University in 1959.
A retired private school educator, he taught fifth grade at Gilman School in Baltimore from 1947 to 1957, and in 1959 was named headmaster of the Meadowbrook School in Weston. In 1969, Mr. Goodwin returned to Baltimore, where he taught fifth grade at Boys’ Latin School until retiring in 1971.
Mr. Goodwin served on a number of boards. He was a member and honorary member of the Corporation of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a commodore of the Quissett Yacht Club, a member of the Elkridge Club, Men’s Hamilton ST Club, and the Bachelor’s Cotillion.
Called Shang by his many friends, he got his nickname as a child when he asked his brother to call him Shanghai for Shanghai Charlie, a character in a radio program.
David S. Isenberg, a Woods Hole friend of Mr. Goodwin, described him perfectly in his blog on April 3, writing, “Shang was geeky and quirky, and kind of frail in a robust way, but unfailingly happy. He knew everything about flags. Everything. Not just American flags, but every kind of flag and crest and burgee and seal and pennant. Provenance, etiquette, symbology, you-name-it. He carried the Stars and Stripes at the head of the rag-tag July 4th parade in Quissett every year until last year when his pancreatic cancer had begun to weaken him.”
Mr. Goodwin grew up sailing his family’s Herreshoff 12 1/2-footer Spindrift when he spent summers in Quissett. Though he and his wife built a home on Penzance Point, Mr. Goodwin was a fixture at Quissett Harbor. In his years as commodore, he was always on the Harbor House dock to congratulate the winner when the Herrshoff racers returned to their moorings. He donated a flagpole in front of the Quissett Harbor House on which the Quissett Yacht Club burgee and the American flag fly daily during the summer. Mr. Goodwin flew the flags of all the yacht club officers during club meetings and he sponsored a contest for the creation of a Watersports flag, which has flown on Watersports day every year since.
Mr. Goodwin had a vast collection of flags. On his own flagpole he would fly a different flag every day, each marking a significant event somewhere in the world.
Mr. Goodwin was a generous supporter of many causes, often as an anonymous donor.
He was known for his wit and his great sense of humor. Intelligent and a gifted conversationalist, Mr. Goodwin could speak on any topic. Mr. Goodwin loved a party and loved dancing.
[Chalmers Original Paragraph: Mr. Goodwin was known for his wit and his great sense of humor. One thing that made him special was the fact that people felt good when they spent time with him. Intelligent and a gifted conversationalist. Mr. Goodwin could speak on any topic; old friends and strangers alike left his company feeling that this man really cared about who they were. Many lives were likely altered when Mr. Goodwin connected the dots and one friend or acquaintance was introduced to another in a mutually beneficial way. Mr. Goodwin loved a party and could dance with the best of them; leaving this life on April Fools Day was his last “wink” to his friends and family.]
A memorial service was held yesterday at 4 PM at St. Mary’s Seminary and University School of Theology and Ecumenical in Baltimore. In addition to his wife, he leaves two stepsons, Mason F. Lord Jr. of Sherman, Connecticut, and Hambleton D. Lord of Wellesley; two stepdaughters, Charlotte Lord of Reading and Rebekah L. Gardiner of Weston; a sister, Emily G. Kemp of Omaha, Nebraska; and eight step-grandchildren: Mason F. III, Alexander McK. and James E.C. Lord of Sherman, Connecticut, Helen S., Olivia M. and Julia H. Lord of Wellesley, and Charlotte P. and Samuel T. Gardiner of Weston.
Mr. Goodwin’s brother, F. Lawrence Goodwin Jr., died in 2007.
Contributions in Mr. Goodwin’s memory may be sent to Gilman School, 5407 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210, or to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543.
[UPDATE April 10: Janet Chalmers sent me her "as written" obituary, which contains some charming descriptive language that the editors of the Enterprise cut. One paragraph in particular stands out; I've included it in square brackets below the published one -- search for Chalmers' Original. The Enterprise edits, in my opinion, make the obit significantly less interesting, and certainly reduce the way it conveys Shang's essence.]
Charles Goodwin III
Charles Goodwin III, a lifelong summer resident of Quissett and Woods Hole, died of pancreatic cancer on April 1 at his home in Baltimore, Maryland. He was 84.
Mr. Goodwin was the husband for 39 years of Charlotte Moseley Ober-Lord Goodwin.
The son of F. Lawrence Goodwin and Frances K. Goodwin, Mr. Goodwin was born December 21, 1923, in Baltimore and raised in that city’s Guilford section. He was a Gilman School graduate and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Brown University in 1947 and a master of education from Harvard University in 1959.
A retired private school educator, he taught fifth grade at Gilman School in Baltimore from 1947 to 1957, and in 1959 was named headmaster of the Meadowbrook School in Weston. In 1969, Mr. Goodwin returned to Baltimore, where he taught fifth grade at Boys’ Latin School until retiring in 1971.
Mr. Goodwin served on a number of boards. He was a member and honorary member of the Corporation of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a commodore of the Quissett Yacht Club, a member of the Elkridge Club, Men’s Hamilton ST Club, and the Bachelor’s Cotillion.
Called Shang by his many friends, he got his nickname as a child when he asked his brother to call him Shanghai for Shanghai Charlie, a character in a radio program.
David S. Isenberg, a Woods Hole friend of Mr. Goodwin, described him perfectly in his blog on April 3, writing, “Shang was geeky and quirky, and kind of frail in a robust way, but unfailingly happy. He knew everything about flags. Everything. Not just American flags, but every kind of flag and crest and burgee and seal and pennant. Provenance, etiquette, symbology, you-name-it. He carried the Stars and Stripes at the head of the rag-tag July 4th parade in Quissett every year until last year when his pancreatic cancer had begun to weaken him.”
Mr. Goodwin grew up sailing his family’s Herreshoff 12 1/2-footer Spindrift when he spent summers in Quissett. Though he and his wife built a home on Penzance Point, Mr. Goodwin was a fixture at Quissett Harbor. In his years as commodore, he was always on the Harbor House dock to congratulate the winner when the Herrshoff racers returned to their moorings. He donated a flagpole in front of the Quissett Harbor House on which the Quissett Yacht Club burgee and the American flag fly daily during the summer. Mr. Goodwin flew the flags of all the yacht club officers during club meetings and he sponsored a contest for the creation of a Watersports flag, which has flown on Watersports day every year since.
Mr. Goodwin had a vast collection of flags. On his own flagpole he would fly a different flag every day, each marking a significant event somewhere in the world.
Mr. Goodwin was a generous supporter of many causes, often as an anonymous donor.
He was known for his wit and his great sense of humor. Intelligent and a gifted conversationalist, Mr. Goodwin could speak on any topic. Mr. Goodwin loved a party and loved dancing.
[Chalmers Original Paragraph: Mr. Goodwin was known for his wit and his great sense of humor. One thing that made him special was the fact that people felt good when they spent time with him. Intelligent and a gifted conversationalist. Mr. Goodwin could speak on any topic; old friends and strangers alike left his company feeling that this man really cared about who they were. Many lives were likely altered when Mr. Goodwin connected the dots and one friend or acquaintance was introduced to another in a mutually beneficial way. Mr. Goodwin loved a party and could dance with the best of them; leaving this life on April Fools Day was his last “wink” to his friends and family.]
A memorial service was held yesterday at 4 PM at St. Mary’s Seminary and University School of Theology and Ecumenical in Baltimore. In addition to his wife, he leaves two stepsons, Mason F. Lord Jr. of Sherman, Connecticut, and Hambleton D. Lord of Wellesley; two stepdaughters, Charlotte Lord of Reading and Rebekah L. Gardiner of Weston; a sister, Emily G. Kemp of Omaha, Nebraska; and eight step-grandchildren: Mason F. III, Alexander McK. and James E.C. Lord of Sherman, Connecticut, Helen S., Olivia M. and Julia H. Lord of Wellesley, and Charlotte P. and Samuel T. Gardiner of Weston.
Mr. Goodwin’s brother, F. Lawrence Goodwin Jr., died in 2007.
Contributions in Mr. Goodwin’s memory may be sent to Gilman School, 5407 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210, or to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543.
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