James Marvin Goodman Obituary

[levetsj]

James Marvin Goodman Obituary
August 4, 1936 - May 2, 2026

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at The Venue by Evangeline Shrine Club for James Marvin Goodman who passed away May 2, 2026 at the age of 89.

A private graveside service will be held at Lafayette Memorial Park Cemetery.

Jim is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Carolyn "Tish" Leonpacher Goodman and his children, LaMont Goodman, Kaia Goodman Reichardt, Michael Goodman, and Jennifer Goodman. He is also survived by his brother, Mike Goodman and his wife Marti. He leaves behind his loving companion, his golden retriever, Bentley.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Marvin Buford Goodman and Margaret Ellis Goodman Merrick; and his two sisters, Patsy and Debbie, all of Nashville, Tennessee.

After Jim's service in the US Army, he began his collegiate career at Louisiana Tech University. In 1970, he moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, to become the director of the Pride of Acadiana Marching Band at USL, now known as the University of Louisiana. He later became the Director of Bands and the Director of the School of Music at USL. Jim had a gift for building meaningful relationships with his students, many of whom became cherished, lifelong friends who felt like family. Upon his retirement, he and Carolyn began a new chapter in Orlando, Florida, where they shared in the joy of organizing and running a music festival at Walt Disney World, combining their love of music and community. He and Carolyn then returned home to Lafayette to enjoy their retirement.

The family wishes to express their appreciation to Lafayette Internal Medicine Clinic, especially Dr. Aaron Ackley, Dr. Jessica Petry, and Dr. Katie Dennis, along with the nurses and staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital for their unwavering compassion and dedicated care.

Special recognition is given to Dr. Michael Liu and Dr. John Higginbotham of Kidney Consultants of Louisiana, whose exceptional care and personal attention made a profound difference to him and his family.

In honor of Jim's love for animals, the family request that memorial contributions be made to Haseya's New Beginnings Animal Rescue, 1321 Section St., Rayne, LA 70578, or the animal rescue of your choice.

Personal condolences may be sent to the family of James M. Goodman at: www.delhommefuneralhome.com

James M. Goodman and his family were cared for and entrusted final arrangements to Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA.

https://www.delhommefuneralhome.com/...?obId=48310500

[Turbine]

He had/has a lot of fans

[NOCajun]

Mr. Goodman will be sorely missed. He was the BEST.

[HELMUTVII]

In 1974 or 1975 we were in a bus convoy to a game at UTA. My bus was the last in line and had a top speed of no more than 55 or 60 mph. We gradually saw the tail lights of the busses ahead of us disappear. Jimmy Armand asked the bus driver if he could go faster. He said he had it floored. The bus driver said press it yourself. Jimmy did ...... we didn't go any faster. After about a half hour I had the feeling the bus driver was lost. I asked him "where are we"? He said "somewhere in Texas". I said "Well that narrows it down to a couple of million square miles". The busses ahead realized that they were one short and stopped at a truck stop. We finally caught up to them. Jim Goodman asked me what happened. I said the bus driver was going as fast as he could but we couldn't keep up.

Band trips could be an adventure.. band trips with Jim Goodman were memorable. He was top notch and we knew it..made us better too.