Mark Goff

Goff, Mark Mark Scott Goff "officially retired," as he described it during his lifetime, on November 30, 2018 at the age of 71. A lifelong Milwaukeean, Mark attended St. John's Cathedral High School, graduating in 1965, before enlisting in the Navy. He served in the USS Kitty Hawk's shipboard hospital during its 1967-1968 combat deployment, when the aircraft carrier set a record for consecutive days launching missions into Vietnam at the peak of the conflict. Upon leaving the military, Mark became a staple of Milwaukee life as photojournalist, documenting the city's antiwar counterculture for the Bugle-American and Kaleidoscope (which ran his photos of Woodstock). Well-known throughout the city, he had "voluminous, detailed political knowledge" of its goings-on, as a 1987 New Yorker article put it. Mark's devotion to politics and activism continued through his work as a political consultant and staffer. His daughters found the roles that took him to Washington, DC on a monthly basis hard to keep track of, but they included chief of staff in the office of U.S. Rep. Jim Moody, president of the Milwaukee Private Industry Council, and lining up Congressional support for the government of Iraq's Kurdistan region. His work took him to Kurdistan just a month before his death, where he was involved in an initiative to build long-term housing for people displaced by the war against ISIS. Mark's greatest hobby was riding his beloved Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He took pride in having ridden through all of the continental United States except one, Kansas, which he did not express regret in missing. His devotion to his work and his bike was rivaled only by his passion for ensuring idyllic childhoods for his daughters, Allison and Leah (Michael), and grandson, Atticus, who survive him. In his grandson's words, "he was the best grandpa ever!" Leah and Allison will host an event in Mark's memory at Von Trier from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 15. Donations can be made to: Attn: Mark Goff Memorial C/o Educators Credit Union 2243 N Prospect Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202