John Thayer Thayer Goodhue

Perhaps you once saw John walking to the Episcopal church on Sunday or having lunch with his grandson William every Saturday at the diner or Subway. Maybe you went on a Harris Center hike with him, or he shared his stories of hiking on almost every continent on the planet. He might have convinced you to contribute to the Rotary Foundation. Some of you may have seen him at the Nubanuset boat landing and wondered how he was going to transport his nine grandchildren and their families to Spoonwood to camp for the weekend. Others may have been inspired to change their lives because he showed up every week, including the week he died, at the Cheshire County DOC, to help them prepare for the HISETT exam.

John Thayer Goodhue died on July 28 after complications from breaking his hip. He was 99.5 years old. He was born in 1925 in Boston and raised in Hewlett, Long Island, New York with his siblings. John married Charlotte in 1947 after States Marine Lines hired him in New York City. Charlotte and John raised their five children in Katonah, New York. After leaving States Marine, John worked for the Navy Sealift Command during the Gulf War, shipping dry goods overseas.

When he retired, they moved to Hancock, New Hampshire, in 1989. John and Charlotte hiked the world for years with friends from the Harris Center. When he wasn’t hiking in a far-off land, he would join other Harris Center members and hike around the region. Until the week he broke his hip, he served as a trustee at Brantwood Camp in Greenfield, was a member of Rotary, and volunteered at the Cheshire Department of Corrections every week.

John Thayer Goodhue enriched people’s lives wherever he went. The world is in a better place because he was a part of it.

The family will hold a celebration of John’s life on September 28th at 3 PM at Brantwood Camp, 127 Brantwood Camp Road, Greenfield, NH.

Donations can be made to the Rotary Foundation, Brantwood Camp, or the Harris Center in John’s name.