David N. Gooding, 84, of Endwell, New York, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 2, 2023. He was predeceased by his mother, Jessie Finn and father, Harry Gooding. He is survived by his loving wife of 35 years, Virginia Gooding, two children, Jeffrey (Pamela) Gooding, and Laura (Nicholas) Carbone, and Virginia’s five children, Katherine Loiacono, Margaret (Darryl) Williams, Frank (Natalie) Benkovic, Linda Bosch, and Brent (Samantha) Benkovic. He was a devoted grandfather to his five grandchildren, Rachael Gooding, Rebecca Gooding, Cara Carbone, Ella Carbone, and David Carbone, and Virginia’s eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He is survived by his half-brother, Michael Finn, and half-sister, Sheila (F. Kelly) Davis.
David was born in Penzance, England and came to America with his mother at eight years old. He graduated from G.A.R. high school in Wilkes-Barre, PA and enlisted in the United State Air Force where he served for 4 years in Japan and Korea on the B57 flight line. After the Air Force, he completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at Penn State University and began a 30-year career at IBM in Endicott, New York. He spent the first half of his career designing and developing digital circuits and subsystems for mainframe computers, earning several patents, and then transitioned to management for the remainder of his career. After his retirement from IBM, he spent time volunteering. He developed a database for the Council of Churches to streamline their volunteer process. He also worked with Helping Hands to recover and clean up many of the households that were devastated by flooding in Broome County.
He was an avid sailor and skier, frequently enjoying time with family and friends at Cayuga Lake, Thousand Islands, and Greek Peak. He was an active member of the Triple Cities Ski Club for many years and organized several group trips. He loved to travel with his wife Virginia, and they enjoyed wonderful trips throughout the United States and to Europe, South America, and Canada.
Everyone who knew David was touched by his generosity. He was always working on a project, fixing things, building and restoring furniture, offering advice, and helping with homework. He was a hard worker and could be relied upon for a creative solution to any problem or challenge. He had a great sense of humor and could easily make you smile and laugh with his quick wit and amusing perspective on life.
He was a truly loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend who will be dearly missed.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated 10 am, Saturday, December 9th at St. James Church, 147 Main Street, Johnson City. Entombment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Johnson City. The family will receive friends at the Allen Memorial Home, 511-513 East Main Street, Endicott, Friday, December 8th from 4-6 pm.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in the form of donations to Mercy House of the Southern Tier, 212 McKinley Avenue, Endicott NY 13760.