Joel “Goodie” Goodman, 69, of Princeton, NJ passed away Thursday, September 11, 2025. Born in New Brunswick, Joel grew up in Bellville and Verona NJ, attending Verona High School. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 2 in Verona, where he learned to love the outdoors and where he eventually became assistant Scout Master. He played soccer and tennis in high school, and alongside his father, raced for the Nutley Bicycle Club. He attended Cook College at Rutgers University, where he met his wife, Jenny. Together, they discovered their love for “adventuring” with many trips to the ‘dacks, the ‘gunks, and more.
Although he earned a degree in chemistry, Joel discovered his passion was to teach high school physics. In 1981, he rode his bicycle to a job interview at Old Bridge High School – 44 years later, in June of 2025, he rode to his last day teaching at OBHS. His legacy of teaching is felt across 5 decades of students, often multiple generations of families who knew that he didn’t just teach physics – he lived and breathed it. He was proud of his awards (MIT Teacher of the Year, Bloustein award, Newark Star-Ledger). He always went the extra mile to give his students every opportunity to succeed. Whether it was staying after school, late-night Zoom sessions, going to students’ houses, field trips, ski trips (etc etc etc), it was clear that he would do whatever it took. When COVID hit, he put together physics kits and delivered them to every student so they could continue to do labs at home. His “Varsity Physics” Youtube channel has over 500 subscribers and over 300 videos. His curiosity and quest for knowledge were never-ending. Even in retirement, after he published his textbook, the pen and paper still came out at every meal to do a physics problem. His legacy of educating lives on, as his three children are all teachers or professors.
Joel was all-in on everything in life, not just teaching. For their honeymoon, he and Jenny rode their bicycles 3,000 miles from Alaska to Montana. After the kids came along, the family piled into the motorhome for the “trip of a lifetime” every summer, traveling to 43 US states. The only thing that could bring him away from the outdoors was family; Joel was a loving caretaker for his mother, Judith, for over a decade, and then for his mother and father-in-law (June and Calvin Moon), bringing the elderly joy and dignity in their golden years. He also became an accomplished woodworker, milling logs with his chainsaw for the wood. After retirement, he and Jenny embarked on a cross-country bike ride- what should have been the first of many more cycling, hiking, and skiing trips.
Joel is survived by his wife, Jenny; his children, Sarah, Leo, and Aaron; his brother, Dave and his sisters, Sue and Debbie.
Funeral Services for Joel will be held at 11AM on Thursday, September 18th at Peppler Funeral Home, 114 So. Main St. Allentown, NJ. Interment will follow at Jacobstown Cemetery, Schoolhouse Rd, Jacobstown. Friends may call from 10 am until the time of service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Joel's name to Friends of Camp Glen Gray, 200 Midvale, Mountain Road, Mahwah, NJ 07430 or the World Central Kitchen, PO Box 96538, Washington, DC 20090-6538.
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