Susan Margaret Goodman, né Thompson – beloved wife, mother, sister, friend, and family matriarch – passed away in Seattle, WA on the morning of December 23, 2025 from heart failure. She was 79 years old.
Goodman was born in Boise, ID on April 28, 1946 to Agnes and Albert Thompson, a WWII veteran and bush pilot. His work took his young family to Lima, Peru and Nome, AK, before the family – also including Susan’s older brother Robert and younger brother Michael – settled in Yakima, WA. A graduate of Oregon State University and member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority (Pi Phi), Goodman moved after graduation to Miami, FL to pursue her career in textiles. She married fellow OSU alum William Lee Goodman in November 1969, and the two traveled the world extensively – first with the U.S. Navy and later with the commercial airline industry, William’s employer.
The Goodmans lived in Portland and Pendleton, OR, before settling in Auburn and Lake Tapps, WA, where they raised three children. In the early 2000s, the Goodmans moved to Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island, where they lived along the bluffs of Fort Ebey State Park and the vistas of the Olympic Mountains and Strait of Juan de Fuca.
In addition to raising her family, Goodman taught elementary and middle school, worked at a JoAnn Fabrics store, and avidly sewed and quilted, making clothes and dresses for her family, and quilting blankets for orphanages. She was an accomplished cook and baker, lover of music and reading, and dedicated mother, wife, and friend.
She will be greatly missed for her immense kindness, effortless style and grace, selflessness, and radiance.
Susan is survived by William Lee Goodman, 79, her husband of 57 years, from Butte, MT; brother Michael Thompson, 71, of Edmonds, WA; daughter Katie Dreke, 52, and husband Damon Dreke, 56, of Lake Oswego, OR; daughter Maggie Goodman, 49, of Seattle, WA; son William Stephen Goodman, 42, of Seattle, WA; and her two grandchildren Ella Dreke, 22, and Severin Dreke, 19, of Lake Oswego, OR.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to PBS’ Cascade Public Media: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/158327/donate/1
Memorial is being planned for summer 2026. Details to be announced.
