Robert Baxter Goodwin

Robert “Bob” Goodwin was born on November 9, 1937 to Floyd and Issy Cavin Goodwin in Westport, Oregon. Robert was the second child and the oldest son of 6 children, who survive him; Patricia, Carol, Carl, Janice, and Daniel Goodwin. His sister Pat was the responsible one who took care of Bob when his mother and father both had to work. Bob was a typical boy who loved to get into mischief whenever possible.

Bob loved the horse that the family had when he was young. This taught him to be kind to animals in general. He would often ride his horse to school. When not attending school he would gather bottles with a friend to earn money for movies, candy, or other good things to eat. He played on railroad tracks until one time he was almost hit and decided that was enough of that. It was like the movie “Stand by me” when the boys jumped off the tracks onto a bank near the river.

He didn’t like fish or fishing but he was able to catch fish easily. One story he told me was about he and his friend wanting to swim at their favorite place but a man was there already fishing and growled at them to go away, that they would chase the fish away. They went upstream a bit and used a hook and string along with salmon berries to catch a good size fish then walked past the former fisherman. He wanted to know what they used as bait. They refused to tell him. In the end, he bought the fish for $20 and still didn’t know what they used.

Bob joined the Army on March 30, 1955 and thought it was a great place to be. He got to eat all that he wanted!! When going overseas to Germany he was enlisted in the Navy for two weeks during the crossing because so many people were seasick. He was assigned to the upper deck to help take care of the civilian dependent passengers who were also seasick. With this assignment he got to eat on the upper deck as well as the lower deck which he took full advantage of. He loved most of his time in Germany but he found that he didn’t care for how the enlisted men were treated. Remember he was only 17 and the first time away from home. He ended his service on February 1958 under honorable conditions.

After his military service Bob began his apprenticeship as a Carpenter. He joined the Carpenter’s union and was proud of his profession. He worked his way through the construction ranks to become a pile buck. He worked on the Tacoma Dome, many of the other local buildings and bridges. He worked in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming working on large smokestacks, bridges, and dams. He would love to tell you about his dam work.

In 1992 Bob was working with a supervisor when Bob overstressed his back and even the supervisor heard the crack when Bob broke his back while pulling a large “hose” of liquid concrete. They found the problem and worked to correct it, but that ended Bob’s working career. He had to go out on disability. But that wouldn’t hold him down. He might not be able to work but he did his best to busy himself.

Bob had two son’s by wife Susie, David, the oldest and then Mike. After a divorce he later married Rita and had two more sons, Cody and Casey. David and Mike later came to live with Rita and Bob when Cody and Casey were still young. The four boys were kept in hand by both parents by loving guidance and a whole lot of patience. Today they are all very fine men. David has daughter Kayla, Mike has son Aden, Cody has four daughters, Christian, Mackenszie, Bailey, and Madison. Casey has a daughter Chelsea and a son Riley. There is a recent arrival of Killian Goodwin, great-grandson to Bob and son of Christian. When Bob learned he had a great-grandson he talked it over with his wife Mary Jo and decided to move from Goldendale, WA back to this area.

One of Bob’s favorite memories is when his sons David and Casey went to Phoenix, AZ to watch the car races to celebrate his 65th birthday. Just before he left is when he met Mary Jo. Bob had joined a seniors singles group and was attending a dance at the Eagles club. Mary Jo had received a call from a friend who asked if she wanted to go to a dance with her. Mary Jo and her friend, Joyce, were sitting apart from the Singles group. Mary Jo saw Bob signing in and went over and tapped him on the elbow and asked him to dance. After the one dance he came over and sat at their table and talked. He asked Joyce to dance as well as other ladies. Phone numbers were exchanged. The next day he called Mary Jo and asked if he could come over. He said he could only stay a little while. They talked for five hours. We found we had so much in common. Our beliefs, what we liked to eat, what we wanted to do, where we had lived. Some things of course were different especially what we liked to watch on TV. Mary Jo learned to like some shows she would not have watched before. Bob didn’t ever like Mary Jo’s shows so she would record them and watch them at a different time.

After a year of dating Mary Jo and Bob went to Los Vegas and got married on November 3, 2003. Mary Jo and Bob traveled around the area, visited different friends and generally enjoyed each other. In 2005 they sold the house in Port Orchard, got a trailer, and headed off to see the country. That is a whole book in itself. They met many fine people, saw many amazing things, and learned more about how beautiful this country really is.

During the trip Bob finally told Mary Jo that he was spitting up blood as they were in Texas. They went on to Harlingen, Texas and found a doctor. At first they were told he had pneumonia and Bob began an antibiotic treatment. Thinking nothing of it they went to Galveston, and saw the sights there. They got a call from the doctor saying they needed to get back to Harlingen and see the doctor. That was when they were told Bob had cancer in his left lung. Quicker than you can blink the doctors had him lined up for an operation and the left lung was removed on April 1, 2005. By the end of May they were ready to leave the area because it was getting hot. As they left and headed north to Oklahoma they were pushed along by a strong wind. That was Hurricane Katrina coming into the south. They then headed up to Oregon to see his Sister Pat and brother-in-law Ray. A cancer specialist was found and Bob began a light treatment of chemo therapy.
Little did they know that an infection had begun in the left cavity because the tube leading to what had been the lung was left too long and it was gathering bacteria.

They moved to Goldendale after the treatments were done and bought 5 acres of land and had a house built. After the Shop was finished of course. They enjoyed the land, the chickens, and the wildlife of the area. By 2014 they decided it was time to think about moving. In 2015 they moved back to this area.

It has been enjoyable for them being around the family, both Bob’s and Mary Jo’s. Unfortunately Bobs health got worse. Even though he saw doctors in eastern Washington and western Oregon, none of them caught the infection that was going on. When arriving in Port Orchard and Bremerton doctors were found that understood what was happening. All the best that could be done at that point was done. In March 2016 an operation was performed to open the left side and clean it out. In June it was thought that they would go in and close the left tube up close and close the hole that had been open in the left cavity. When going in they saw that the infection was raging. They opened the left hole a bit more after cleaning and treating. As the dressing was changed daily, it was easier to see what was happening. It was decided that what they attempted in June could now be done. He went in on October 28, 2016. He woke up and seemed to be getting better. On Sunday, October 30, he suffered a heart attack. After 7 days of keeping him under sedation he was woken with confusion, but with his usual sense of humor. He seemed to be getting stronger. On November 12 at 11 p.m. Mary Jo was called to come to the hospital. Bob was suffering another heart attack or something that was taking him away. At about 1:23 a.m., November 13 he left us. He had passed his 79th birthday on November 9. He left all of us sad at such a loss.