Patricia A. Goldman

1942 - 2023

GOLDMAN

PATRICIA A. GOLDMAN (1942-2023)

Patricia A. Goldman, 81, of Washington, DC, died on July 26, 2023, of viral pneumonia.

She was born in Newton, New Jersey, on March 22, 1942, to Jack J. Goldman, a dentist, and Miriam L. (Cassiday) Goldman, a nurse. In 1964, she graduated from Goucher College, which granted her an honorary doctorate in 2010 for her leadership in public service, in the airline industry, and on the college's Board of Trustees, which she chaired during Goucher's transition to coeducation.

After college, she worked on Capitol Hill as a committee staffer and as executive director of the House Wednesday Group, an informal organization of moderate Republican members of Congress. She also directed manpower and anti-poverty programs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was legislative counsel for the National League of Cities of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and served on the governing board of the Ripon Society, a liberal Republican policy organization.

She was later appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the National Transportation Safety Board and was reappointed by President Ronald Reagan â€" perhaps the only person to be nominated for a Senate-confirmed position by both presidents. As vice-chairman of the board, she was instrumental in the passage of legislation mandating child safety seats in automobiles.

After retiring from public service, she became senior vice president for corporate communications at USAir â€" the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. airline industry at that time.

Beginning in the 1960s, she was an activist with the National Women's Political Caucus and other organizations seeking passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and headed the WISH List, raising money for pro-choice Republican women candidates.

After surviving ovarian cancer, she co-founded the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, which advocates for research and patient care, and served as a community representative on review panels for the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense's Ovarian Cancer Research Program.

For almost half a century, she lived for part of each summer at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York, an historic hub of educational and cultural activities, where she served on the boards of the Institution and the Chautauqua Foundation.

Pat Goldman is survived by her husband of 33 years, Stephen Kurzman; his sons, Charles and George Kurzman, and their families; William, Timothy, Roger, Michael, and Jeffrey Goodell, sons of her first husband, the late Sen. Charles Goodell, and their families; and devoted friends who will greatly miss her love and graciousness, sharp intellect, and valiant spirit.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 30, 2023, at Temple Micah, 2829 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007. Interment following at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Adelphi, MD. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice. Shiva will be observed Sunday evening at the late residence. Arrangements entrusted to TORCHINSKY HEBREW FUNERAL HOME, 254 Carroll St. NW, Washington, DC 202-541-1001.