Gary Goodson
Gary Goodson, 77, of Sour Lake, died Sunday, April 18, 2021, at Christus Hospital-St. Elizabeth, Beaumont. He was born on April 4, 1944, in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, to Esther Marie Wages Goodson and William Ernest Goodson.
Survivors include his wife, Glenda Goodson, of Sour Lake; son, Jeff Goodson and his wife, Melinda, of Sour Lake; daughter, Kristy Levin, of Billings, Montana; brothers, Bari Goodson and his wife, Kena, of Lone Grove, Oklahoma and Ernest Dale Goodson and his wife, Iris, of Ardmore, Oklahoma; and grandchildren, Ethan Levin and Katy Levin, of Billings, Montana, Cole Goodson and Erik Bergvall of Sour Lake, Texas, and Alex Bergvall of Austin, Texas, and many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his parents.
Gary graduated from Pauls Valley High School in 1962. During college at East Central State college in Ada, Oklahoma, he met and married his sweetheart. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Education.
He then joined the Marine Corps for two years. He was stationed in Quantico, Virginia. While in the Marines he received a Good Conduct Medal and a National Defense Medal.
After Discharge, he taught Math and Physics, and coached football in Kansas and Oklahoma for five years.
A career change led him to the oil field industry. He started working for Western Wireline in Lindsay, Oklahoma and then transferred to Hobbs, New Mexico, Levelland, Texas, and Andrews, Texas. In Andrews he became a drilling superintendent for Exxon and drilled many wells across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming and offshore Louisiana. He also did international drilling in the North Sea, Norway, West Africa, and Russia’s Sakhalin Island.
He retired from Exxon in 2001 and started his own company, Tadpole Consulting, Inc. where he continued to work as a consultant.
After retiring from his own company, he moved to Sour Lake, Texas to be closer to his children.
Gary was a very caring and generous person and took pride in being able to help people during times of financial need. He also loved to share his knowledge and counsel anyone who would listen on the importance of education and investing. He also was a “softy” when it came to animals. He would take in any stray cat or dog that he found. His excuse to Glenda was, “This animal is so ugly that we have to keep it because no one else would want it.” We also think he loved cats so much because he too, had 9 lives.
In his free time, Gary enjoyed woodworking. It has been said that if wood paneling was still in style, he would have had it in every room. He was also known for his ability to work like a horse. On home projects it was not uncommon for him to work 24 hours a day without rest. I’m sure neighbors might not have appreciated the middle of the night hammering on the roof, but he had a “work till it’s done” attitude.
His pride and joy were his children and his grandchildren. He was so proud of them.
At the time of his death, he and his wife had been married for 57 years.
A gathering of Mr. Goodson’s family and friends was held from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Friday, April 23, 2021, at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. His graveside service was held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 24, 2021, at Rosedale Cemetery, Sour Lake.
Memorial contributions may be made to Humane Society of Southeast Texas, P.O. Box 1629, Beaumont, Texas 77704.
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Complete and updated information may be found at: broussards1889.com.
