About Bud Goodman
Husband, Father, Grandfather, and Friend

When our middle child turned 9 years old, he decided he wanted to join 4-H and take a steer project. Bud had been a 4-H member as a youth but had never taken a steer project. We enrolled our son in a local 4-H club and thus began our long educational experience. The second year our son was in the 4-H club we were asked to be assistant advisors and we accepted. The club was primarily market animal projects and by the third year of our son's membership, the club's membership reached over 50 members. The head advisors decided the club needed to split. The decision was made to split the membership according to which side of the major highway the kids lived. The kids had a different idea though, and when the next year started, all but five of the kids insisted on joining "our" club. The first order of business was to name our club and the kids decided on the name "Blue Ribbon Showmen". The blue ribbon signified that every member was to receive a blue "A" grade ribbon on every project. The kids were enthusiastic and the older kids led by example and encouragement.

Bud and I used to spend most Sunday afternoons during the 4-H season, visiting the members of our club to see their animals and help in any way we could. We had our club for 13 years and every year our members had at least one grand or reserve champion animal and always had many class winners. Whenever "our" kids pulled into the fairgrounds, no matter what barn they were unloading at, there was a crowd to look over the animals to judge the competition. One year a member received a red "B" ribbon and the other kids in the club made his life so miserable, not only at the fair, but all the next 4-H season that no one ever received anything but a blue ribbon after that year.

Our own children received many awards in different areas of competition, some champion animals, winner of outstanding 4-H boy of the year, Showman of Showmen to name a few. They also participated as junior leaders and helped with other county-wide 4-H activities. The last year Bud and I were advisors, the Blue Ribbon Showmen had a membership of 56, and members exhibited 32 steer projects, 12 lamb projects and 30 pig projects at the county fair. When we gave up the 4-H club we continued to work with any 4-H kid that asked for help.

Over the years, I started working full time and between Bud’s bookwork and my full time job, my hours available for 4-H kids were limited. Bud however, was a dynamo and could work a 10 hour day on a construction site, come home, shower, grab a quick bite to eat and still have the endurance to go to some kid’s house to spend time in their barn with their beef project. He loved kids more than anyone I ever knew and valued the time he spent with them more than anything else in his life, except his own family. Bud was a hard working, humble man who actually thought the only thing he had to offer youth was what knowledge he had about feeding and grooming cattle when in actuality he was giving life lessons in the value of honesty, hard work, perseverance, and good sportsmanship. He was their friend and confidante, as well as their main cheerleader.

We lost Bud suddenly as the result of a job-site accident and our loss was shared by many. In fact, when the family had viewing hours at the funeral home, people stood in line for four hours just to get to the family and extend their condolences and share a memory of their time with Bud. In his obituary we asked that people donate to a fund ("The Bud Goodman Memorial Youth Fund") in lieu of flowers. We hoped the donations would be enough to help at least one child with a beef project the following year, maybe with feed or equipment needed. The outpouring of donations was large enough that we turned the proceeds over to the Fairfield County Foundation to administer so future donations would be tax deductable and donors would feel confident that their donations were actually benefiting youth.

This, in a nutshell, tells it all. Bud was a great guy, a faithful husband, a great father and grandfather. He didn't idealize status, didn't envy what anyone else had, but was comfortable with who he was, and what he was.