- Date Of Birth: April 30, 1948
- Date Of Death: November 29, 2015
- State: Arizona
On Sunday the 29th of November, 2015, Lester Francis Goodchild passed away with grace and dignity, surrounded by his loving family. For several months, he had been battling chronic and acute lung diseases. Les was a devoted husband, caring brother-in-law, uncle, and godfather. He was filled with boundless energy, a love for higher education, and a joy for providing guidance to students, colleagues and community leaders. He recently moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he planned to spend his retirement with his beloved wife of 35 years, Wynn Goodchild. Before the move, he and his wife lived in Boston, where he was a Distinguished Professor of International and Comparative Education at UMass, Boston as well as a Professor Emeritus from Santa Clara University (SCU) in California. Les specialized in the history of higher education, public policy, administration, and professional ethics, as well as international and comparative education. During different times in his career, he served as a professor, program chair or dean of education at several universities, including UMass Boston, SCU, and University of Denver. He was a man of tremendous character with a big heart who was always there for those who needed him. A devout Catholic, he took a profound interest in helping people. Les will be dearly missed by all of us. Dr. Goodchild earned a B.A. in Sociology from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN; an M.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University; an M.Div. from St. Meinrad School of Theology in Southern Indiana; and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He is survived by his loving wife, Wynn Goodchild, and by her siblings: Carole/Jonathan Hall, Steve/Erika Johnson, Herrick/Eileen Johnson and two step brothers, Andrew/Jen Lee and Bruce/Kathy Lee as well as nieces and nephews and his father-in-law, Bruce/Alexandra Johnson.
