Obituary of James William Goddard

In loving memory of Jim Goddard, who passed away unexpectedly at the Englehart Hospital on September 6^th, 2019 at the age of 72. 

Jim will always be remembered by his beloved wife, Maureen and his four children, Sean (Lisa), Brent (Diane), Shannon (Chin) and Kathryn (Nick) as well as his grandchildren Brandon, Evan, Adrian, Nolan and Isabel. 

He was predeceased by his father Howard and his brother Dick.  He is survived by his mother Doris, sisters Sandy (Rick) and Joan and brothers Doug (Brenda) and Tom (Lise).  He is also remembered by Maureen’s family – Chauncey and Ingrid Corley, Lynn and Cecil Coutts, Erica Corley, Tim and Debbie Corley and Tammy Neimi. 

Jim was raised on the family farm in Harley Township, which was homesteaded by his grandfather and passed to his father and then to him.  He took over in 1975 and continued to farm until 2004.  It started out as a dairy farm, but at various times, you could also find chickens, pigs, a goat, horses and finally beef cattle (as well as many family pets).  Dad was proud to have raised his family there, but often had to drag his children out to help with chores, saying “it won’t take long and you won’t get dirty”.  Despite their reluctance, he was proud to have used the farm to teach his kids everything they would need to get by in life, something they eventually learned to appreciate. 

He also worked as a clerk for the Township of Harley and for many years at Northern Telephone.  He was also a founding member of the Harley Volunteer Fire Department, of which his father was the founding Chief.  When the International Plowing Match came to Temiskaming, he spent every day volunteering to make sure the event was a success. 

When Jim and Maureen retired, they moved to town, where Jim promptly made it his mission to have the finest manicured lawn on the block.  Although he had retired from farming himself, he kept his schedule open to consult on the Corley Family Farm in Englehart (or for anybody else that would listen).  Jim and Maureen also enjoyed many years of travel to Florida, Texas, Arizona and Alaska, as well as summers in New Liskeard, where Jim golfed with his buddies almost every day. 

He adored his grandchildren.  In the summers, he and Maureen would take circle tours of Southern Ontario to see their children (but mostly their grandchildren).  If he was in town, he never missed one of Nolan’s hockey, soccer or baseball games and always took Nolan to the golf course.  He always met Nolan in the lobby of the arena to debrief after his hockey games.  He often bragged about Isabel’s accomplishments, telling people she could read at six months! 

Jim’s family will receive friends and family at the Perrin Funeral Chapel on Tuesday, September 10^th from 10 am to 11 am, followed by a service at 11 am. 

If desired, donations to the Temiskaming Hospital CAT scan fund will be gratefully acknowledged.