Joan W. Goodstein

February 25, 1937 - November 20, 2024
Joan W. Goodstein, age 87, passed away on November 20, 2024, in Northridge, California, at peace after saying thoughtful, individual goodbyes to those she loved. She led an adventurous and impactful life, but her most lasting legacy is the tight family she leaves behind: her children Laurie Goodstein, Jon Goodstein and Gary Goodstein, and their respective partners, Peter Grand, Alena Deerwater and Andrea Goodstein; her grandchildren, Gabriel and Ruben Grand, and Grant and Sarah Goodstein; and her former husband, Daniel V. Goodstein.
She loved music and words, and was clever at putting them together. She began writing plays in junior high school at her beloved Forman School in Connecticut. She grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where her father owned a paint and wallpaper store, and her mother and aunt directed high school musicals. Joan wrote for her high school newspaper, graduated from Connecticut College and worked as a medical technician.
But her priority was to be a mother. After having three children in New York and moving to Los Angeles in 1968, she incorporated her love for the arts in family life. She wrote musicals for the school her children attended. She worked at Songwriters Resources and Services, running workshops and a novelty song competition judged by the comic radio host known as Dr. Demento.
At age 50, Joan received a master's degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco, and worked for a variety of non-profit organizations including the HEAR Center, Recording for the Blind, and the Josephson Institute of Ethics, where she helped launch the "Character Counts" national education initiative.
She often put her travels to a purpose as an Earth Watch volunteer, assisting scientists in the field. In the Gulf of Mexico, she studied dolphin migration patterns. On Rapa Nui/Easter Island, she helped archaeologists working to conserve the massive stone Moai statues. She observed meerkats in South Africa's Kalahari Desert and charted whale migration in the Sea of Cortez.
At 79, she hiked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain on a trip with her daughter. She participated in classes on a wide variety of subjects at SAGE Learning in Retirement. She was an active resident of The Village in Northridge, and a member of Valley Beth Shalom, and later, Temple Ramat Zion.
In lieu of flowers, donate to the food pantry at Temple Ramat Zion in Northridge, and write a note of gratitude to someone you love or appreciate.