We mourn the passing of Charles Goodall, member of our Board of Directors since 2000. A friend to us all, a friend to our rivers, we miss him sorely.
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SIDELL – Charles William Goodall, 68, of Sidell died July 4, 2013, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago of complications from multiple myeloma.
Charles was born July 28, 1944, in Danville, the son of the late Clarence Vernon Goodall and Rachel Elizabeth (Guthrie) Goodall.
A fifth-generation farmer, he grew up on the family farm just outside of Sidell, with sisters Carol, Marjory, and twin Catherine, and was a member of the Jamaica High School Class of 1962. Charles attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in agricultural economics.
Immediately following college, Charles spent two years in Venezuela as a Peace Corps volunteer. His experiences there left a deep impression and a curiosity about other languages and cultures. He reminisced fondly about the people he met and his interactions with them.
Charles married Nancy Tsai Chao on Aug. 17, 1969, in Urbana. After living in New York and St. Louis, where Charles graduated from Washington University School of Law, the couple returned to Sidell in 1974 to farm in partnership with his father. Clarence and Charles also began and operated Goodall Products to design, manufacture and market C-Thru® bin extensions and other harvest equipment accessories.
Charles greatly valued community, historical preservation, the natural world and conservation, and he dedicated his time and effort to these causes.
He was a longtime member of the Sidell Lions Club and Farm Bureau, served on the Hastings drainage district commission, Lake Vermilion Water Quality Coalition and the Sidell Tree Commission, was a board member of Prairie Rivers Network, and was a founder of Stand Up to Coal.
Charles’ sense of stewardship and his long-term view are reflected in projects such as planting a grove of trees last fall with the help of his sisters and friends. His curiosity led him to pursue knowledge over the last several years in areas such as organic farming, soil conservation practices and German, through classes, conferences and books.
He enjoyed outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and canoeing, and through these activities, shared his love of the outdoors with family and friends.
He will be remembered by those close to him for his optimism, his hard work, his easy laugh, and his love of problem solving. Over the years, he used his creative skills and metalworking shop to make furniture and other custom items for his family, a grill wagon for the Lions Club barbecue, and the occasional piece of wall art.
Charles is survived by his wife Nancy; daughters Catherine (Uwe) Goodall-Heising and Andrea (Milyon) Trulove; granddaughter Norah; his sisters Carol Wock, Marjory (Paul) Queen and Catherine (Albert) Allen; and many other relatives and friends.
The family will have a private burial. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. July 28 at the Sidell United Methodist Church, 202 Chicago St., Sidell.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorial donations may be made to the International Myeloma Foundation, Prairie Rivers Network or the Sidell United Methodist Church.
Joines-Appleby Funeral Home of Newman is in charge of arrangements.
