Dr. Nelson Goodman, a Denver native who practiced medicine here for over 30 years, passed away Sept. 4, 2008, in Denver. Rabbi Eliot Baskin officiated at the Sept. 7 graveside service at Rose Hill Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
Nelson Goodman was a compassionate, caring and loving human being all qualities that made him an outstanding husband and a wonderful doctor, the family said.
His concerns for his family and for his fellow man were powerful forces that drove him throughout his life, they said. He taught his children to work hard, be curious, love and care for others and also to be generous and charitable.
Dr. Goodman was born Dec. 11, 1913, the fourth child of Russian immigrants Eleck and Anna Goodman who settled in Denver many years earlier. As a young boy, he loved riding around on the goat whose milk he drank as an infant.
A graduate of Cheltenham Elementary, Lake Junior and North High, he did his undergraduate work at DU.
Dr. Goodman married Florence Quiat in 1941.
He put himself through medical school by working at his brother-in-laws Bargain Book Store in downtown Denver.
Dr. Goodman earned his medical degree from CU.
Shortly after his marriage, he was sent overseas to serve as an Army doctor in WW II.
From 1941-1946, he continued serving his country as a military physician.
Shortly after being assigned to Europe as part of a medical collecting company, he was transferred to the 186th General Hospital Unit in Fairford, England. He remained there until 1946 and earned the rank of captain.
Following the war, Dr. Goodman practiced general and internal medicine for over 30 years, first in north Denver and later in Wheat Ridge. He provided medical care at no charge for patients who were unable to pay and refused reimbursement from rabbis and non-Jewish clergy as well as fellow physicians and their families.
Mrs. Goodman passed away on Oct. 3, 1999.
In 1981, two of the doctors patients dedicated a research laboratory in the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA in the names of Nelson and Florence Goodman.
Dr. Goodman belonged to many local and national medical societies.
He is survived by his children Linda Goodman (Loren) Jacobson of Santa Fe, NM, Dr. Michael (Jacquelyn) Goodman of Kalispell, Mont., and Nancy Goodman (Lawrence) Waldman of Morrison, Colo.; grandchildren Devin Goodman of Los Angeles and Brielle Goodman of San Diego; and sister Edith Permut of Louisville, Colo.
Memorial contributions may be made to Exempla Lutheran Hospice at Collier Hospice Center in Wheat Ridge; or the charity of choice.
