Alexander Whitman Gould

1959 - 2021

Alexander Whitman Gould

Alexander Whitman Gould, loving husband to Annie, devoted father to Annabelle and Eloise, brother (both older and younger), favorite uncle, nephew, cousin and friend, died suddenly and much too early on May 21, 2021, of an aortic aneurysm. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin Jay Gould and Josephine Wilkinson Gould and his daughter, Eloise Dodge Gould. He is survived by his wife, Annie; daughter, Annabelle; and brothers James Gould, Howard Gould, and Gordon Gould. He also leaves behind a loving and tight-knit network of extended family and friends.

Alex was husband and father first and above all else but also a polymath; successful farmer, artist, cabinetmaker, builder of new and restorer of old structures, horseman, companion to a long line of good dogs and ok cats, musician, scuba diver with a divemaster certification, mechanic, ethically driven hunter, conservationist, amateur athlete and avid college sports fan. He supported a wide array of good causes but was a firm believer that small gestures made close to home were no less important than the grand donation to famous institutions. So, after every snowstorm he would be in his tractor plowing his neighbors roads and driveways…he decided he had a tractor and could do it so he did. Good deeds done quietly and often were his trademark.

Alex had an eye and ear for the ridiculous and a resulting wicked sense of humor. At the same time he was unfailingly kind and courteous in a sort of old world way, one always felt that he might just tip a hat. He was a talented writer of letters, anyone who has received one understands…the truth is this tribute would have been far better had he written it.

Alex was born in Manhattan in April of 1959. He attended the Buckley School in Manhattan and then The Harvey School in Westchester, N.Y. It was at Harvey that Alex truly found his stride as a natural and graceful competitive athlete. He was a standout soccer and lacrosse player, sports he continued at Millbrook School and then Marvelwood School. In later years he substituted riding horses and golf for soccer and lacrosse and coached both willing and unwilling daughters and their team mates in the intricacies of the games. His summers as a boy were spent as a happy camper at Camp Adirondack on Lake George, New York. Alex loved his time at Adirondack enough to eventually became a counselor-in-training and then a fully fledged counselor at the camp.

In the few summer weeks not at camp Alex was in Bermuda with his Bermudian grandparents, cousins and a large group of Bermuda friends. Bermuda was both home and second home to Alex throughout his younger life. Alex also learned to scuba dive in Bermuda, and this love of being under the water lasted for the rest of his life. Scuba diving took him from Australia to the Bahamas, Mexico and Roatan to Jamaica and home to Bermuda where we used to dive on Argus Tower, a modified oil rig standing in 190 feet of water. A "bounce dive" to the bottom with decompression stops on the way back up was simply magical with the circling schools of barracuda and jacks reflecting sunlight off their bodies.

Alex later studied at the Boston Museum School, then graduated with an MFA from Marlboro College. An installation in metal that Alex did as part of his thesis still stands at the College. Alex lived in Vermont for several years after graduating from Marlboro College and it was here that he developed and honed the craft of restoring historic buildings.

The wedding of a friend in Bermuda was the first step in the winding and happy path to a farm in Barboursville, Virginia. At some point during a typical Bermuda wedding weekend, Annie Melloy, like Alex a friend of the bride, caught his eye (or he caught hers), and by the end of the weekend it was clear that each had met the love of their life. And so, on a pretty Saturday at the end of April 31 years ago, they were married.

They were not yet settled in in Virginia, so first came a bit of time around Wilmington, Delaware, then a rented cottage on a farm near Charlottesville with their first daughter Annabelle while they searched for their home. Later, with her younger sister Eloise on her way they found the perfect place: a beautiful piece of land with sweeping views and best of all, an old, completely run down and shambolic farm house that Alex could really sink his teeth into and shake into better than new.

When Eloise became terminally ill with cancer, Alex and Annie's love for their girls was so prevalent in everything they did. In the end, it was what allowed them to move forward and along the way do so much for the battle against childhood cancers.

Always the supportive partner, Alex helped Annie to start her art gallery in Gordonsville, with Alex as the strong right arm, and back and left arm. As much as it might try to fall over, Alex held it up, made sure the lighting was perfect, the paint stayed where it should be, the mechanical systems cooled and heated and flushed, he even moonlighted as the bouncer on the front door during this past odd year.

Recently, and much to Alex's delight, Annabelle moved back to Charlottesville. Having both his girls within easy reach was his heart's desire, making him completely happy and content. Alex had reached the stage in life that he could do what pleased him most; spend time with Annie and Annabelle, do what needed to be done around his beloved farm, paint, ride horses. The hard work was largely done and he could begin to enjoy what he and Annie built together. His family is so grateful that he had this time.

A memorial service celebrating Alex's life will be held on Saturday, June 12, 2021, at 11 a.m. at St. Paul's Memorial Church, 1701 University Avenue, Charlottesville, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, Annie and Annabelle ask that donations be made to the Virginia 4-H Council that supports agriculturally-based educational youth development programs within rural Virginia. To make a donation, please use this web address https://4-h.org/ways-to-give/.