Lawrence "Ray" Goodwin, 97, beloved father and grandfather, departed this life for the next on November 13, 2020 in Pinellas Park, Florida.  Formerly of Parrish, Florida, Ray was known for his devotion to God who he served faithfully through years of active service in the United Methodist Church, and to his family.  Ray faced a valiant fight with prostate cancer until the very end, never complaining and desiring to spare his family any worry or concern.

Ray was born to Frank and Emily Goodwin on Oct. 9, 1923 in Texarkana, AR, to a family of 1 brother and 2 sisters, all who predeceased him. Ray served in the Army Air Corps during WWII as an airplane mechanic in Egypt and India, and returned home to his home state of Arkansas where he began his professional career as an employee of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.  Soon after returning home, he met his wife, Anna Helen Thornton, in the elevator of Union Station in Little Rock, where both of their brothers were employees of the same railroad.  They were married six months later in 1947, and were married for 61 years before Anna passed in 2008.

While advancing in his career, promotions took the family to Indianapolis, IN, Helena, AR, Little Rock, AR, Houston, TX, Mobile, AL and Birmingham, AL.  Retiring early in 1984, Ray and his beloved Anna retired to Florida to be close to their three daughters, Susan McCarthy, Becky Schafer, and Debbie Young, and their families, who survive him.  Retirement afforded him the opportunity to play the game of golf, a particular love of his, as much as he liked. In addition, he availed himself of both television and radio to follow his beloved Arkansas Razorbacks athletic teams.  Ray and Anna developed a special interest in travel, going to Europe a total of 26 times with various friends, developing audio-visual presentations for various civic and church groups as a way of sharing the incredible variety of God's beauty in other locales.

Along the way, the family enlarged with the birth of Jennifer Susan (Burnett) Shannon, Ryan John Burnett, Lee Wagner Schafer, Jr., Lucas Trent Schafer, Meaghan Alyssa (Young) Blank, and Brendan Scott Young, their incredibly loved grandchildren, and then three great-grandchildren, all of whom survive him.

Due to the COVID virus, a service will be limited to family and close friends and will be held at Serenity Gardens in Largo, FL on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 1:00.  A memorial service will be held in the future at Parrish United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Parrish United Methodist Church Building Fund, 12180 US-301, Parrish, FL 34219.