Vance Reid Goodman

Vance Reid Goodman, 85, of Mt. Pleasant, passed away Friday, August 10, 2018, at Curis at Concord after a period of declining health.

A celebration of Vance’s life will begin at 3 p.m. Thursday, August 16, at his church, St. Stephen’s Lutheran in Gold Hill, with the Rev. Ruth Sipe officiating. The Goodman family will receive friends in the church fellowship hall beginning at 2 p.m.

Vance was born November 22, 1932, to Frank B. and Stella S. Goodman. He graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School, Class of 1951, where he was a member of the first tackle football team. Drafted into the U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne Division in April 1953, Vance served as a company clerk with the rank of corporal until he was honorably discharged in 1955.

After serving his country, Vance was an electrical apprentice before graduating from the North Carolina State Truck Driving School in 1965. He drove for Akers Motor Lines for more than six years before returning to electrical work, studying for and receiving his North Carolina state electrical contractor’s license in1973. For the next 35 years, he owned and operated his own business, wiring residential, commercial and nonprofit properties across multiple counties in our area, including the first Northeast Cabarrus Volunteer Fire Department building.

Wiring that building was a true labor of love as Vance had volunteered with the fire department for 22 years, serving as assistant chief and on the board of directors. His community involvement stretched further still, as he served on the board of the former Cabarrus Memorial Hospital for a decade and was a member of the Mt. Pleasant Lion’s Club. 

Vance and his wife, Frances, were members of St. John’s Grange, Chapter 729, and received the chapter’s Family of the Year Award in 2002. In his leisure time and as long as he was able, Vance enjoyed hunting and fishing, and playing his guitar and singing at the Cabarrus County Senior Center.

Vance is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Frances Earnhardt Goodman; a son, Myron A. Goodman (Glenda); a daughter, Terrie G. O’Neill; a granddaughter, Joni G. Featherstone (Jeremy); a great-granddaughter, Layni Featherstone; a sister, Miriam G. Gray (Ralph); and a brother, Carl Goodman (Brenda).

Memorial contributions may be directed to St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, 4401 St. Stephen’s Church Road, Gold Hill, NC, 28071, or to the Northeast Cabarrus Volunteer Fire Department, 1500 N. Lentz Harness Shop Road, Mt. Pleasant, NC, 28124.