Austin Clay Goode

Austin Clay Goode, 92, of Bedford, Va., and formerly of Dillwyn, Va., died on Sunday, May 9, 2010, at the Elks National Home, Bedford, Va. Born on March 12, 1918, in Huddleston, Va., he was a son of the late Ira Clay Goode and Hinda Austin Goode. In addition to his parents, Austin was preceded in death by his sister, Marie; and her husband, Earl Hobbs; and two sisters-in-law, Betty Goode and Louise Goode. Austin was a member of the National Guard, Company "A," 116th Infantry, 29th Division. He was transferred to the 318th Infantry, 80th Division and served in the European theatre under the command of General George S. Patton. He was the plant manager of Burruss Land and Lumber Company, Inc. In 1987, he retired as plant manager of Buffalo Wood Products, a division of the Kyanite Mining Corporation. Austin was a former member of Bethesda Methodist Church, Huddleston and he later joined the First Baptist Church in Dillwyn, Va., where he served as church treasurer, deacon, trustee and Sunday school teacher. Austin is survived by his wife, Dorothy Wilkes Goode, whom he married on September 5, 1943, in Pickens, S.C.; two daughters, Linda G. Heath and her husband, Charles, of Stephens City, Va., and Mary Clay Mongold and her husband, Vernon, of Moorefield, W.Va.; a son, John A. Goode and his wife, Patricia, of Blackstone, Va.; three brothers, Joseph Edward Goode, of Bedford, Va., William Davis Goode and his wife, Polly, of Radford, Va., and Maurice Benjamin Goode and his wife, Gertie-Mae, of Huddleston, Va.; five grandchildren; nine greatgrandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the Dillwyn First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 32, Dillwyn, Va. 23936 or to the Special Care Unit, Elks National Home, 931 Ashland Avenue, Bedford, Va. 24523. A Funeral Service will be conducted 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at Tharp Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Jimmy Dunn officiating. Internment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery. Military Honors will be provided by American Legion Post #16 of Lynchburg. The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Bedford, Va., 540-586-3443. To send condolences online, visit www.tharpfuneralhome.com.