Charles Good

Charles Worthington Good, 85

March 18, 1935 – February 16, 2021

On the evening of February 16, 2021 Charles Worthington Good passed away peacefully with his family by his side.

Charles was a gentle, kind and humble man who possessed an abundant love of learning, an aptitude for teaching and that rare talent to teach extraordinarily well. As a lifelong educator, he taught thousands of students, leaving behind a positive legacy of service that continues to flourish today.

Charles Worthington Good was born in Troy, New York on March 18, 1935. He spent his childhood living with his family in Glens Falls, New York, the hometown he cherished all of his life. Located 12 miles north is Lake George and the Adirondack Mountains, where Charles spent many hours fishing, camping, boating and swimming in the lake and among the forests of the surrounding mountains.

After his father, Amos, earned a job promotion in 1950, Charles and his family left Glens Falls and relocated to Paoli, PA, located 20 miles west of Philadelphia, PA.

In June 1953, Charles graduated from Conestoga High School in Berwyn PA. He entered Pennsylvania State University [PSU] as an undergraduate three months later. During his tenure as a PSU student, Charles served as the manager of Men’s Golf Team and was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon social fraternity.

Charles graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in Social Science and Secondary Education in 1957. In 1958, he received a master’s degree in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

From 1958 to 1965, Charles taught Social Studies at Phoenixville Area Junior High School. During that time, he was the Social Studies Department Chairperson, coached the school’s baseball team and was awarded the Freedom’s Foundation Medal for Excellence in Classroom Teaching.

Charles served in the United States Army and Army Reserves as well from 1958-1964. He was honorably discharged, having earned the rank of Sergeant.

In 1962, Charles married Vivian Dye. He and Vivian were married for 33 years and had two children.

From 1965-1966 Charles served as Associate Director of Research for the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) in Trenton, New Jersey. In 1966, he became a professor West Chester University (still named West Chester State College at the time). Charles taught there for 32 years as a member of both the Secondary Education and Business Administration Departments, until he retired in 1998.

In 1972, Charles received his Doctoral degree from Temple University and was awarded a position as Associate Professor and then Full Professor at West Chester.

As a professor, Charles was highly regarded by his students as a master educator. Far too humble to ever reveal this himself, to his family and closest friends he was often described as, ‘not only my best professor through college, Dr. Good was the best teacher I’ve ever had.’

During retirement, Charles remained active as a member of many professional and social organizations that included The Penn State Alumni Association, The Nittany Lion Club, Phi Delta Kappa, The Association for Supervision and Curricular Development, The Pennsylvania Middle School Association, The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Retired Faculties, The Friar’s Society of West Chester University and The Concord Country Club where he served on the Board of Directors and was a member for 35 years.

A huge fan of Penn State Nittany Lions football, Charles was a 40-year season ticket holder from 1968-2008. Except for one game in 1991, when he participated in his son’s wedding, Charles was in attendance for every home game at Beaver Stadium during those years.

Charles was an avid reader who typically read 3 books per week during his retirement. He was also an avid golfer who hit the links 2-3 times per week during many of his years in retirement.

As a lifelong lover of nature, Charles had a specific interest in ornithology. Ever since he reluctantly listened to a Boy Scout leader teach a lesson about birds, while hiking as a kid, Charles was hooked for life. His avian enthusiasm never waned and his expertise about them never stopped progressing. He could usually identify most birds of the northeast and mid-Atlantic by both sight and sound. Even better, he could transform the common bird apathy of most humans into an ongoing bird interest in a matter of minutes.

During retirement, Charles also began to write. When he turned 70, Charles wrote a heartwarming memoir, describing the events of his childhood living in Glens Falls. 15 years later, his family still treasures the many stories he wrote recounting those happy times he had.

Charles cherished the time he spent with his family and friends. He also genuinely liked people and because of it, people liked him too. He was considerate, kind and friendly to every person with whom he crossed paths during the day, regardless of their station in life. He was a great listener who was truly interested in another person’s story and he was truly the gentle man he appeared to be.

Charles is survived by his children, Mark and Vivian Elizabeth and his granddaughters, Devon Kearney-Good and Tyler Kearney-Good.

As his family, we are immensely grateful for the immeasurable gift of having Charles in our lives. We will miss him so very much.

Honor or memorial donations may be made in Charles’s name to the Alzheimer’s Foundation at https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/ .