William H.D. Goddard

1942 - 2020

BORN

1942

DIED

2020

About

Rhode Island School for the Deaf Rhode Island School of Design Yale University

William Goddard Obituary

GODDARD, WILLIAM H.D.
William H. D. (Bill) Goddard, age 78, passed away peacefully on October 1, 2020 from lung cancer diagnosed in December, 2017.
Bill was born in Providence on September 24, 1942. He is survived by his wife Katharine Wright (Ferris) Goddard to whom he was married for 52 years; his daughter Charlotte Ives Goddard and her husband Carl Martin Swanson; his sister, Margaret G. Leeson and her husband Rob (of South Kingstown); three brothers: R. H. Ives Goddard (of Washington DC), Thomas P. I. Goddard and his wife Lisa (of Newport), and Moses B. I. Goddard and his wife Joan (of Tiverton); as well as many nieces and nephews.
Bill was the son of the late Robert Hale Ives Goddard and Hope Linton (Drury) Goddard of Providence.
From an early age, Bill showed a propensity for art. He attended Moses Brown, graduated from St. George's, spent a year at Yale University, and a year at RISD before enlisting in the military. He attended the U.S. Army School in Europe and was part of the 13th Psychological Warfare Battalion where his artistic talents proved to be of significant value.
Upon his return from Germany he attended Boston University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1970. Bill also began competing in SCCA auto racing in the northeast, becoming G Production class champion before retiring.
He was a firearms enthusiast from a young age and excelled on the pistol team while in basic training at Fort Bragg. He became an expert in the field of semi-automatic pistols and authored The Government Models: The Development of the Colt Model of 1911. He also served as a technical expert and expert witness in numerous court cases.
Bill was a Partner in and the Operating Manager of Brown & Ives Land Company, LLC until his death. Additionally, he was a Director of the Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank; Chairman and CEO of Cadre Technologies, Inc.; a Director of the Providence Investors Corporation; and President and Treasurer of Warwick Land Company.
Bill dedicated a large part of his life to public service and was a Trustee of the Rhode Island Hospital; the General Campaign Chairman of the South East New England United Way (1981); Chairman of the Providence Rhode Island Municipal Port Commission; Vice Chairman and Director of the Lifespan Corporation; and a member of the Lifespan Investment Committee for 20 years, serving as Chairman for part of that time. During Rhode Island's banking crisis, Governor Sundlun appointed Bill as Vice Chairman of the Depositors Economic Protection Corporation (DEPCO). He was a Director of the Providence Industrial Development Corporation and served on the Board of Managers of the Providence YMCA and on the boards of The Jackson Laboratory in Maine and Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Bill truly enjoyed his numerous friends and colleagues and would have been honored to have them at his service. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, burial with military honors was private.

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Published by The Providence Journal from Oct. 11 to Oct. 13, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for William Goddard

4 Entries

Dana Powers

June 7, 2024

I met Mr. Goddard only once, briefly, on an airplane ride in the mid-80s, during which he was a kind and engaging fellow passenger. Being a young, enthusiastic college student, I bent his ear on numerous topics, including my future plans for law school (3rd generation American and first to achieve a college degree). He patiently listened, gave me sage advice and inspired me to expand my views of what was possible in my life. I´ve always remembered that conversation because it truly changed my worldview in the most positive way. He gave me his business card and we parted ways with my promise to look him up if I ever traveled to the area (a mutual fiction we both understood). I´m just writing to say that I don´t know what kind of man he was in his daily life, but he seemed like a really great guy. I´m sad that I never did follow up or have the chance to tell him just how meaningful it was - a long, lively discussion that passed the time and altered my entire trajectory. I offer my condolences to his family and friends. I will be forever grateful for his wise words.

Laura Coleman Laprocina

February 15, 2021

I believe my grandmother worked for Mr. Goddard and lived on Brown St in Providence. My mother has shared how kind and good Mr. Goddard and ALL the Goddard's were to my grandmother. My brother and I enjoyed many visits and overnights in the home. We remember the carriage house, the grounds, I want to express condolences to the family on behalf of my brother and myself and for treating my grandmother as family, Rest in Peace Mr. Goddard and my condolences to his wife and daughter Charlotte I remember meeting as a child. God Bless.