Richard “Dick” Goodman, 83, passed away unexpectedly in the early hours of August 19, 2025. He had just attended a Suwanee planning meeting, gotten ready for bed and finished the Wordle. He passed away silently moments later with his wife and cat nearby.
Dick was born in New York City on April 2 1942 to Sheila and Jack Goodman. He was raised first in The Bronx and then in Elmont, New York. He graduated from Clarkson College in upstate New York with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Liberal Arts.
He began his career in public relations in Manhattan and later moved to Florida where he served as the president of the Public Relations Association of Miami.
He was a talented artist and photographer and lover of model trains. He was known for his love of jokes and puns and wrote a humor column in Miami Today for which he won the “Achiever Award” in 1993.
He married his wife Louise, on December 31, 1975. Together they moved to Suwanee, in 2006 where he became involved in his new hometown. He attended Leadership Gwinnett, and in 2010, and Gwinnett County Commission Chairperson Charlotte Nash, appointed him to the Gwinnett County Public Library Board of Trustees where he served as chair for nine years, retiring in 2020.
He was elected to the Suwanee City Council in 2009 and served through 2020. He was responsible for spearheading Suwanee’s annual “Sculp Tour” and for selecting the suspended art piece in the lobby of Suwanee City Hall. He promoted the initiative to request that all property developers in the City of Suwanee dedicate one percent of their building budget to a work of art displayed on their property, which continues today. He loved the City of Suwanee and often remarked on the beauty of this town and how happy he was to live here.
His older brother, Michael, predeceased him. He is survived by three children by his first wife, Carol née Roccaro: Melissa Stanton and her husband Brian, David Goodman and his wife Mary Ellen Flannery, and Jennifer Goodman and her partner Jason Foster-Bey and seven grandchildren, Jack, Ava, Corinne, Lucy, Josephine, Margaret and William. He also shared three step-children with his wife of nearly 50 years, Louise: Edward Mehrman, Michael Mehrman, and Denise Varenhorst and her husband Regan Varenhorst, in addition to five more grandchildren, Ivy, Timothy, Chloe, Cassidy and Riley.
He is also survived by his beloved cat Tigger, a present from his wife. Tigger brought Dick immense joy, companionship and delight and is a testament to a pet’s ability to enhance a person’s life and touch their heart.
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, October 5, 2025 at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Flanigan Funeral Home. There will be a Reception immediately following at Suwanee City Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family wishes to purchase the bench, an original granite sculpture which sits in front of the library and is part of the Suwanee Sculp Tour at this link:
https://goodman.cheddarup.com/
