Emerita faculty member Miriam Goder has let us know that her husband, Dr. Harold Goder, passed away December 30, 2008. Dr. Goder was a faculty member in Biology from 1962 through his retirement in 1998. Miriam, a Keene State faculty member in Music from 1962 to 1994, lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Please use the “Comments” link below to share your memories of the Goders with us.
Sorry to hear about “Doc”. A nice man who always treated others well. He was PMD’s landlord for many years and provided us a nice place to live. My thoughts, prayers and sympathies to Miriam and the kids.
Sorry to hear about Dr. Goder. I remember Intro Bio in the auditorium and the surprised look on his face the day I went from blue jeans to a dress. He thought this earth science student would always be a tomboy. Was definitely worth it.
My sympathy to the family.
Sad news indeed. Doc Goder actually made zoology class interesting for this English major. He was truly a wonderful man and a great teacher. On behalf of the Alpha Pi Tau Alumni Association, I extend our deepest sympathies to Miriam and the rest of the Goder family.
Doc Goder was a wonderful guy. Unfortunately as a less than ambitious student, I never appreciated how good he was in the classroom. I believe I had him for both Botany and Zoology twice. I successful completed each once. I do remember sitting in one of the science amphitheatre classrooms with mountains of notes wondering how I was ever going to pass.
Sorry to hear that we’ve lost him. Doc was my advisor, really contributed to my love of biology and eventual career teaching it. He was a great professor, with an excellent sense of humor. I remember finishing my cat dissection early and sitting and telling jokes with him while the rest of the class finished. I’ll miss him.
Dr. Groder will be missed. As the Bio Club sponsor for almost a decade (or maybe more), he provided us with experience, leadership, and fundraising opportunities via his connections throughout the scientific community – remember the film series on albino wildlife?
I express my condolences to the Goder family. I had one class with Dr. Goder – Biological Aspects of Sexual Reproduction. I enjoyed the class as well as getting to know Dr. Goder. He had a great sense of humor and was just a real nice person.
I deeply regret Doc’s passing. A teacher, landlord, and friend from 1968 thru 1975 and mostly a friend.
Beyound classes and Phi Mu Delta Doc and I worked together outside school, sharing jobs, jokes, and general life. I wish I had kept in touch over the years and often thought about him. He was a very good man.
Please past on my sympathies to Miriam and famiy.
Sorry to here about Dr. Goder’s passing. He was a wonderful teacher and treated students fairly. He was the Biology club advisor of which I was very active in.
An English major when Dr. Goder came to KSC in ’62, I began taking biology courses. I ended up with a minor in biology, and actually student taught in both English and biology, before deciding to be an English teacher. Dr. Goder was a wise, witty man, who lived the science he taught. I became a lab assistant, and scored biology exams for him for 2 years. Always fair and approachable, he was a real friend. I worked on the old house he was renovating, and when I began renovating my own old farmhouse, mentioned in Class Notes, he sent me an encouraging note. I have a pair of binoculars near my back window to check out the bird life in the back field, and have a naturalist’s interest in all wildlife, thanks to him.
Harold was a wonderful colleague and friend. He had so many interests and talents in addition to being on the faculty in Biology. My sincere sympathy to Miriam and the family. He is remembered most fondly
I was saddened to hear of the death of Dr. Goder. As a music major at KSC, I had the good fortune of having had two outstanding educators in Doc and Miriam. My admiration for Dr. Goder was so great, I chose to take Botany and Zoology TWICE! His patience and understanding of my trials and tribulations was constant and genuine. My deepest sympathy to Miriam and children.
I was a Georgia Tech dropout who found his way to Keene State and Dr. Goder’s biology and zoology classes remain some of my most vivid memories. Fair but challenging, he also had a personable side that so many others have mentioned. I manned the projector for him during biology club film sessions and helped with maintenance work at one of his buildings. If I had just known him thorugh the classroom that would have been enough, but these other opportunities provided me with some fond memories of a good man. My condolences to the family.
Doc was a good man. He was my advisor and was always available to speak with and share stories of which there were many. Of the professors I had he was among the best because he taught with passion and clarity.
Doc was also patient, a virtue he undoubtedly needed at times during lab but more so dealing with us Phi Mu Delta brothers as our landlord. I swear we were responsible for some of that hair loss (or the graying of what he had left).
We are all better because of his contribution and he leaves the community a better place. God Bless and my sympathy to Miriam and the family.
As a Biology major and a member of PMD, Doc and I saw a lot of each other over the course of my college career. I recall a project in Genetics class which required hours of research, writing and preperation for an oral presentation to the class. Talking about various patterns of hair loss in the male was where I had some fun. Remember that Doc sat in the front row center to listen to our presentations. The presentation went something like, “and in some men the hair loss occurs in a crown pattern and in others, along the central axis of the skull”. I had a tough time trying to keep a staright face but Doc saw right through it and he crumbled a sheet of paper into a ball and fired his best heater at me. We all had a good laugh and he was a good sport. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Harold Goder was a good friend and office mate for several years. He gave some great parties for the Biology Club. I remember him cooking and keeping up a conversation with students at the same time. I think the students really liked Harold. Harold really did a lot for Keene State College, and those good years of service should be acknowledged. My wife Penny and I certainly enjoyed the company of both Harold and Miriam. We will both miss Harold. We hope to stay in touch with Miriam.
Penny and Patrick Eggleston