Harold Thomas Goodnight

Tom Goodnight, born December 14, 1935, changed his address to Heaven on December 18, 2014. He fought the overwhelming battle with cancer, leaving behind his beloved wife, Marilyn of 58 years, and his loving son and daughter, Steven and Julie. He was born in El Dorado, Arkansas and raised in Texas with his loving sisters, Donna and Shirley. He joined the United States Marine Corps where he served as a Drill Instructor and a Career Planner. He served 2 tours in Vietnam and retired on Independent Duty in El Paso, Texas as a Gunny Sergeant. He received his AA degree in Criminal Justice. He continued to work after retirement in Security Management in the Bay Area.
Tom was an avid sports lover. He even pitched for the St. Phillip Angels. He was a Dodgers fan, a Lakers fan and let’s not forget his Rams. Golf was the hard one to give up towards the end. Thank goodness for television.
Tom was an active member of St. Phillip Lutheran Church in California, where he served as a Financial Secretary and a Stephen Ministry Leader for many years. His faith in the Lord grew as he attended Cursillo and then was asked to join the work team. After retirement and moving to Arizona he became a member of Crown of Life Lutheran Church. His greatest joy there was ministering as an elder and holding an epiphany party for his flock. As a very gentle man, he humbly served the Lord as a facilitator of a small group Bible study. His desire was to leave behind a spiritual legacy to his late daughter Pam and her children, his son Steven and his wife Cherie, and their family, and his youngest daughter Julie and her children and to all of his great grandchildren as well. I believe he did just that.
The celebration of life will be held at Crown of Life Lutheran Church with full military honors on January 3, 2015 at 11:00am. The burial will be held at the National Cemetery in Cave Creek. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may go to the Sanctuary Hospice and/or Crown of Life Lutheran Church. Smart Creations will be caring for all of the arrangements.