Jewel Herbert Goddard, 92, died on March 29 in Olympia, Washington, at his home of natural causes. His wife, Kris, was by his side. There was an irony of living his final days in the midst of a general quarantine for a respiratory pandemic after having survived three years of quarantine for tuberculosis as a teenager.
Goddard was the son of Fleming L. Goddard and Ethel (Pennington) Goddard (who were residents of the Portland area in their later years), born in Twin Falls, Idaho on June 25, 1927. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 1951, a Masters of Social Work from the same school in 1955, and worked toward a doctorate at the University of Oregon. He taught management at Willamette University and juvenile justice at the University of Minnesota.
He began his career as a juvenile probation officer. He was named Director of Juvenile Court for Lane County, Oregon in 1961 after working at Skipworth for 5 years, and stayed in that position until 1968 when he moved to Minneapolis to become the Director of the Dept. of Court Services for Hennepin County, Minnesota. In 1973 he returned to Oregon to become the Director of the Dept. of Human Services for Multnomah Co., Oregon, where he stayed until 1977. From 1977 to 1984 Goddard was the Director of the Boys and Girls Aid Society of Oregon. Finally, in 1985 he was named state administrator for the Oregon Children’s Services Division, by the Governor, where he worked until retirement in 1987.
A member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Goddard oversaw the incorporation of the Indian Child Welfare Act guidelines for the State of Oregon while director of CSD.
Perhaps because of his long quarantine as a teenager, Goddard threw himself into outdoor activities. He owned many small boats over the years, and thrilled to shoot the rapids of the McKenzie River during the historic annual McKenzie Boat Parade. He loved sailing and spent many summers in the San Juan Islands, became the Commodore of the Portland Yacht Club, and at one point shipwrecked with a friend on a deserted beach of southern Mexico where they were rescued by local fishermen. He successfully sailed to Tahiti and back. He owned a houseboat and sailboat marina on the Columbia River, Columbia Way West.
Goddard is survived by his wife of 26 years, Kris (Johansson) Goddard, and by his son Jim (Diane) Goddard of Littleton, CO, daughter Ann Goddard of Seal Rock, Oregon, as well as Kris’ children, Kevin Liburdy of Hood River, OR, and Katy (David) Schumacher of Olympia, WA; also by grandchildren Wyatt Goddard and Sawyer Goddard of Littleton, CO, Jesse (Sara) Goddard-Trenholm of Springfield, OR, and Heidi (Dustin) Clark of Rushville, IL, and three great-grandchildren Emma and Eli Trenholm and Ava Clark.
