Roll Call Tribute

Barbara Coulter Goodman 

July 27, 1953 - October 6, 2024 

Barbara Coulter Goodman, age 71, passed away at home in Gulfport, Florida on Sunday, October 6, 2024. With her husband Paul and sister Nancy by her side, she passed gently at home. Barbara had bravely fought through a 30-month struggle with complications of colon cancer.

Barbara Lee Coulter was born Monday, July 27, 1953. She was the third child of five to Dr. JB and Elaine Coulter in Brownsville, Texas. She was a true “Texas Girl”, complete with horses, cattle, cowboy boots and hat. She epitomized the polite, friendly, “get to know you”, fair play, honesty and kindness personality of her home state. She was a football fanatic and as you will learn, was famously resilient. She forever had a soft spot for farmers, farms and animals. In her early years she raised and exhibited cattle under the tutelage of her veterinarian father. Tending her grandparent’s citrus orchards, picking cotton and tomatoes and learning to iron, sew and crochet at her grandmother’s side were her developing years. She kept a lifelong love of small animals, cotton, tomatoes, citrus, sunflowers, day lilies and orchids. Her crochet projects focused on home, friends, newborn nieces and turtles. Her crochet work was unfinished at her passing, just having been accepted by The Magic Yarn Project as a “Magic Maker” to provide beanies for young cancer patients who had lost their hair.

Barbara attended high school at Brownsville High School where she was on the Student Council, active in Speech and Drama. She was yearly in the top 5% of her class, she found fun as a cheerleader, was a member of the National Honor Society, and a “Who’s Who in American High Schools”.

Graduating from Brownsville in 1971, Barbara attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas studying education. After three years she decided to transfer to her dream school, Texas A&M University. It was a fateful move, resulting her meeting a roommate of Paul Goodman at summer school. When Paul arrived for the fall semester, he provided transport for his roommate Richard to visit Barbara at her apartment in College Station. Eventually, Barbara moved on from the roommate and became “friends” with Paul. A backpacking trip solidified the relationship. Barbara graduated from Texas A&M University in 1975 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Curriculum and Instruction. Barbara’s first job was teaching at Horace Mann Middle School in Baytown, Texas. Paul graduated from Texas A&M in 1976 and took a job in Dallas.

Paul proposed marriage in the fall of 1976, notifying both families using the latest technology, a telegram! They were married on July 2, 1977. Former roommate Richard was Paul’s best man. Settling in Richardson, Texas, Barbara taught Junior High School math, geometry and science, and later in school districts in Richardson, Dallas and ultimately Lewisville High School.

Looking for new challenges, Barbara moved into the technology field, learning RPG programming for the mass processing of partnership tax returns at FastTax of Dallas. She moved quickly through the hierarchy, and Barbara became a senior manager.

In 1988, Paul brought home a proposal to accept a position in Tokyo, Japan. She accepted the radical move to the expatriate life of foreign languages, unfamiliar foreign customs, and international travel. Barbara studied Japanese language and Japanese arts, becoming a master in Ikebana flower arrangement. She was active in the women’s group at the Tokyo Union Church. Eighteen months later, Singapore became the next stop. Once again reinventing and finding her own way, Barbara taught Japanese spouses to speak English. She excelled at hosting corporate dignitaries and spouses visiting from Texas.

In 1991. Barbara and Paul returned to Dallas, prompting her reinvention to a career as a cultural trainer. Working with families, particularly spouses, training them on what to expect in their new culture and teaching them how to live and adjust overseas. Later, Barbara returned back to her tax return technology career.

In 1995, Paul changed jobs and brought home another proposal. This time the destination was Australia to open offices for a new business across Asia. So, off again she went, settling in Wollongong, Australia then eventually Melbourne.

She once again reinvented herself. Barbara joined and eventually became the President of the American Women’s Association, raising funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. Working with US Ambassadors, (of course he was named Tex) and Australian officials and dignitaries. In Melbourne she found a sport that she had a talent for and she loved, rowing. The sport captured her, gliding across a lake in Melbourne with crews of two and four and occasionally eight.

Beginning in 1999 she and Paul became vagabonds in Europe. Once again moving for work, first in England and then in Belgium, but eventually settled into Tervuren, a village outside of Brussels. Reinventing herself once again Barbara became a leader of the American Woman’s Club of Brussels, raising funds for local charities. At the end of 2000, Barbara and Paul returned to the US, settling in Gulfport, Florida to be near her brother, his family, and Paul’s job area. Again, a new start for Barbara. In an exercise class she befriended Colleen, the head of HR at the Poynter Institute. Recognizing a soul she could trust, Colleen asked Barbara to take on her duties during several month’s absence. The temporary position blossomed into a permanent position as Executive Assistant to the Publisher of the St Petersburg Times. A promotion landed her the responsibilities of the Business Manager of Florida Trend Magazine. Barbara retired from Florida Trend Magazine in 2015.

The St Petersburg Yacht Club Sailing group, the “Salty Sisters”, and race committee roles soon became her focus, joining the “Eight Mates” class of the tough COVID year in 2019. Her expertise was applied to sailing Optimist Prams, but she gravitated to ensuring others enjoyed the sport by serving on race committee for the Salty Sisters and later for the St Petersburg Yacht Club.

Barbara had a life-long love of using animals to comfort children with medical challenges. In St. Petersburg she continued this work as a volunteer at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, guiding comfort animals to visit patients. In addition, she trained puppies for the unsighted at Southeastern Guide Dogs and walked the beaches ensuring turtle nests were respected and hatchlings had a chance to survive the oceans with the Sea Turtle Trackers of St Pete Beach.

Barbara was proceeded in death by her parents Joseph Benedict Coulter Jr., and Winifred Elaine Loop and an older brother Steven Coulter.

Barbara is survived by her husband, Robert Paul Goodman of Gulfport, FL, her sister Nancy Coulter Gayman (husband Carl Joseph Gayman) of Brownsville, TX and brothers Joseph M. Coulter (wife Jill) of Norwood, MA and John T. Coulter (wife Holly) of San Antonio, TX. Barbara was totally smitten by her great nieces Leena and Laurel.

Our family would like to honor the care and support we received from Suncoast Hospice nursing and support staff. They met Barbara’s every need to be pain-free and comfortable at home in her last days. Thank you.

A Celebration of Life is being planned in Florida and in Texas, but hurricane damaged facilities have disrupted schedules. Dates will be published as soon as they are available.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Barbara’s favorite animal care teams would be welcomed. Those are: Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (vetmed.tamu.edu/giving/vet) or Sea Turtle Trackers of St Pete Beach (seaturtletrackers.org/donate). 

IN THE CARE OF
Beach Memorial Chapel