The Life of Raymond Joseph Goodrich
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 pm on Monday, April 18, 2016 at Holy Cross Catholic Church for Raymond Joseph Goodrich, 69, who passed away on April 15, 2016 at his residence.
Reverend Albert Borel will be Celebrant of the Mass. Con-celebrant will be Reverend Howard Blessing.
Entombment will take place in Lafayette Memorial Park Mausoleum.
Raymond, a resident of Lafayette, was the son of the late Airlarnce "Buck" Goodrich and the former Rosita "Rose" Reyes.
Raymond''s passion for music and life was evident from the moment you met him. Born in New Iberia, Raymond was exposed early to the joys of music as a young band student. Raymond was with Lafayette Music Company since 1965, working his way up to the top and eventually purchasing the business with his wife, Karen, in 1977.
He immersed himself in everything he did, which is evident by the long list of community organizations he has been involved with through the years. He served as President of Pinhook Rotary Club, President of Holy Cross Catholic Church Pastoral Council, Boy Scout Troop Committee Chairman, Assistant Boy Scout Troop Leader, Chairman of the Better Business Bureau of America, member of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, long time member of the National Association of Music Merchants and a long time member of the Knights of Columbus, where he served as the Faithful Navigator of the 4th Degree Knights, just to name a few. Raymond also made it a priority to support and foster music education at every level. In addition to his involvement at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, as a past chairman of the Dean''s Advisory Council of the College of Arts and Architecture and former executive board member of the Alumni Association of the College of General Studies, under his leadership, Lafayette Music Company created various endowed scholarships to fund music education for over 150 deserving music students.
Raymond''s service to the community and professional work was always done with a smile and a generous heart, but his happiness and zeal for life always came from the music. Yes, the music! Playing lead trumpet in numerous bands through the years, Raymond''s real passion was live performance. His performance resume'' was lengthy. His longest tenure was with Bobby and the Rockers and most recently with Gene''s Boogie & Brass Band.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Karen Borel Goodrich; sons, Raymond J. Goodrich, II and his wife, Stephanie Chiasson Goodrich and Blaine Matthew Goodrich and his wife, Rita Yaun Goodrich; daughter, Pamela Goodrich Johnson and her husband, Tracy Stephen Johnson; grandchildren, Kelsey (Kaitlyn) Johnson, Eden (Jacob) Etcheverria, Jonah (Regan) Johnson, Alex Goodrich, Sophie Goodrich and Bennett Goodrich; one great grandchild, Adeline Johnson; siblings, Bobby (Debbie) Goodrich and Ronny (Judie) Goodrich.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Delhomme Funeral Home - Bertrand Drive on Sunday, April 17, 2016 from 4:00 pm until 9:00 pm. A Rosary will be recited at 6:00 pm Sunday evening at the funeral home. Visiting hours will continue on Monday from 10:00 am until the time of service.
Pallbearers will be Kelsey Johnson, Jonah Johnson, Alex Goodrich, Jacob Etcheverria, Patrick Ardoin and Gene Romero.
The family would like to thank Dr. Joseph Eugene Brierre and Lourdes Oncology Associates and staff.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the UL Lafayette Foundation, Lafayette Music Company Endowed Scholarship, P.O. Drawer 43410, Lafayette, LA 70504.
Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements.
Reverend Albert Borel will be Celebrant of the Mass. Con-celebrant will be Reverend Howard Blessing.
Entombment will take place in Lafayette Memorial Park Mausoleum.
Raymond, a resident of Lafayette, was the son of the late Airlarnce "Buck" Goodrich and the former Rosita "Rose" Reyes.
Raymond''s passion for music and life was evident from the moment you met him. Born in New Iberia, Raymond was exposed early to the joys of music as a young band student. Raymond was with Lafayette Music Company since 1965, working his way up to the top and eventually purchasing the business with his wife, Karen, in 1977.
He immersed himself in everything he did, which is evident by the long list of community organizations he has been involved with through the years. He served as President of Pinhook Rotary Club, President of Holy Cross Catholic Church Pastoral Council, Boy Scout Troop Committee Chairman, Assistant Boy Scout Troop Leader, Chairman of the Better Business Bureau of America, member of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, long time member of the National Association of Music Merchants and a long time member of the Knights of Columbus, where he served as the Faithful Navigator of the 4th Degree Knights, just to name a few. Raymond also made it a priority to support and foster music education at every level. In addition to his involvement at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, as a past chairman of the Dean''s Advisory Council of the College of Arts and Architecture and former executive board member of the Alumni Association of the College of General Studies, under his leadership, Lafayette Music Company created various endowed scholarships to fund music education for over 150 deserving music students.
Raymond''s service to the community and professional work was always done with a smile and a generous heart, but his happiness and zeal for life always came from the music. Yes, the music! Playing lead trumpet in numerous bands through the years, Raymond''s real passion was live performance. His performance resume'' was lengthy. His longest tenure was with Bobby and the Rockers and most recently with Gene''s Boogie & Brass Band.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Karen Borel Goodrich; sons, Raymond J. Goodrich, II and his wife, Stephanie Chiasson Goodrich and Blaine Matthew Goodrich and his wife, Rita Yaun Goodrich; daughter, Pamela Goodrich Johnson and her husband, Tracy Stephen Johnson; grandchildren, Kelsey (Kaitlyn) Johnson, Eden (Jacob) Etcheverria, Jonah (Regan) Johnson, Alex Goodrich, Sophie Goodrich and Bennett Goodrich; one great grandchild, Adeline Johnson; siblings, Bobby (Debbie) Goodrich and Ronny (Judie) Goodrich.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Delhomme Funeral Home - Bertrand Drive on Sunday, April 17, 2016 from 4:00 pm until 9:00 pm. A Rosary will be recited at 6:00 pm Sunday evening at the funeral home. Visiting hours will continue on Monday from 10:00 am until the time of service.
Pallbearers will be Kelsey Johnson, Jonah Johnson, Alex Goodrich, Jacob Etcheverria, Patrick Ardoin and Gene Romero.
The family would like to thank Dr. Joseph Eugene Brierre and Lourdes Oncology Associates and staff.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the UL Lafayette Foundation, Lafayette Music Company Endowed Scholarship, P.O. Drawer 43410, Lafayette, LA 70504.
Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements.
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2016.04.19
Goodrich remembered for music store, generosity
Herman Fuselier, hfuselier@theadvertiser.com 7:22 p.m. CDT April 18, 2016
Raymond Goodrich helped raise more than $1 million for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation, various UL music programs and high school bands.(Photo: Daily Advertiser)Buy Photo
Raymond Goodrich never won a Grammy. He never had a million-selling record.
But friends and associates have trouble counting the lives Goodrich touched as owner of Lafayette Music Company for close to 40 years. Scotty Walker, longtime director of Lafayette High School’s award-winning band, bought his first Proline instrument from Lafayette Music when he was in the seventh grade.
Through the years, Walker witnessed Goodrich’s generosity with music students at all levels. But Walker said nothing tops his work to establish the Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands.
READ:Marching band changed this girl's life
With more than 30 bands competing each year at Cajun Field, the showcase has helped raise more than $1 million for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation, various UL music programs and participating bands.
“It’s regarded as the cornerstone marching band contest in the state,” said Walker. “He did it so no bands have to pay an entry fee. He took the proceeds from the concessions stands and donated them bands to went, in order to help them with instruments or whatever they needed.
“The most important thing was a lot of the proceeds would go to fund an endowment at UL that would pay for scholarships for music students. That was all through the marching band contest that he did. He was always giving to people.”
Walker and others are remembering Goodrich, who died Friday at his residence, following a battle with cancer. Goodrich, 69, was eulogized Monday at Holy Cross Catholic Church and buried in Lafayette Memorial Park Mausoleum.
Besides his work with the Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and other organizations, Goodrich was fueled by a lifetime passion for music. He began working at Lafayette Music in 1965 and purchased the company with his wife, Karen, in 1977.
Lafayette Music created endowed scholarships for more than 150 music education students. Jackie Lyle, former director of the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana, said Goodrich was a trusted resource in PASA’s Play It Again program, which gathered donated instruments and gave them to local students.
Goodrich and staff evaluated the instruments and restored the worthy ones at little or no cost.
“If you called Raymond Goodrich to support something, he wasn’t necessarily going to write a check,” said Lyle. “What you got instead was the service and commitment of his staff which, in many times, was way more valuable. It was the kind of support that money cannot buy.”
e®As a performer, Goodrich played trumpet with Bobby and the Rockers, Gene’s Boogie & Brass Band and many other groups. Cajun fiddler Beau Thomas, who appeared in TV commercials for Lafayette Music, said Goodrich’s support was felt away from academic circles, too.
“He’s always been a positive encouragement and force behind our local musicians,” said Thomas. “He always had a lot of respect for the different genres, from jazz to swamp pop to Cajun. He gave a lot of musicians the opportunity to work during the day and help them out.
“Some years ago, I ran into a snag in my personal life. My name was in the paper and he told me, ‘Look, everybody makes mistakes. The most important thing is to find out what caused you to make those mistakes and get yourself back on the right path.There’s no reason why I wouldn’t want to associate with you.’
“He helped me to understand you can be an artist and a business person, and not do those things perfectly, but still be successful. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Raymond.”