Les Goulden

Leslie (Les) Goulden, 86, of Scottsdale, Arizona, passed away at the Mayo Clinic on February 24, 2025. Born on November 9, 1938, in Leeds, England, to the late Harry and Betsy Goulden, Les lived a life dedicated to his family, friends, medical manufacturing career, and many hobbies and interests.
Les emigrated with his parents and siblings from England to Vancouver, Canada, at age 13, where he graduated from Magee High School in 1954. At age 21, he emigrated to Seattle, Washington, and started his career in medical manufacturing. He was drafted into the US Army shortly after, where he served his two years at Fort Ord in Monterey, California. He loved California so much that he stayed there for the next 57 years before spending his last 6 years in Arizona.
Les was a loving father to his four children, David Goulden, Tamara Goulden, Ryan Goulden, and Robert James (RJ) Goulden, a cherished father-in-law to Megan Goulden, and a beloved grandfather to Harper Goulden, Eli Goulden, and Sydney Goulden. He is also survived by his brother, Jeff Goulden, and eight nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister, Doreen Steiner.
Les was proud to have built a career producing diagnostics in the medical industry, where he led manufacturing teams at large industry leaders and biotech start-ups. He was also an avid hobbyist and tinkerer. He restored British roadsters, built model airplanes from scratch, and always had a project around the house to build or fix something.
In his later years, after initially resisting an iPhone and having one forced on him by his kids, he was finally thrilled at everything he could do with it. His favorite was keeping in touch with far-flung family and friends worldwide on Facetime and WhatsApp.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association https://diabetes.org/