Wallace Goodman, Jr. passed away on May 1, 2025, in Thomasville, Georgia, after a two-year courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born October 25, 1947, in Durant, Oklahoma to Evelyn Norman Goodman and Wallace Goodman, Sr.
Wallace loved growing up in Durant, Oklahoma, a town much like Thomasville, Georgia, his adopted hometown since 1993. He graduated from Durant High School in 1965, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Business from the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 1970. Having been a member of the Army Reserves while in college, the day after graduation from OU, he was on a bus to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for basic training.
After basic training, Wallace embarked on a 32-year career working in newspapers. He was Publisher of award-winning newspapers, including the Thomasville-Times Enterprise, which he published from 1993 to 1999. He also published newspapers in Oklahoma, Maine, and Enterprise, Alabama. In 1999, Wallace began a career as Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pebble Hill Plantation, a position he held for 18 years, retiring in 2017.
Wallace lived a lifetime of dedicated service to his communities, church, civic and military organizations, and to fellow citizens. As a member of First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, Georgia, he served as a ruling elder and as a member of the church finance committee. He was a lifelong University of Oklahoma “Sooner” Football fan, “win or lose,” and proudly sported “crimson and cream” attire on all game days.
Other organizations benefiting from his leadership skills and past service as a president or board chairman include: Thomasville Cultural Center (Center for the Arts), Rotary Club of Thomasville, Boys and Girls Club of Thomasville, and the Salvation Army.
Other organizations benefiting from his past service as a board member include: Thomasville History Center Board, the John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, the Archbold Medical Center Board of Directors, the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and the Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation. He also served as a member of other organizations including the Association of the United States Army-Bogardus S. Carins Chapter, Fort Rucker, Alabama. In 2014, representing Pebble Hill Plantation, Wallace, along with Don Sims, President of the local Chamber of Commerce, and then-Georgia Governor, Sonny Perdue, participated in a group traveling to Canada to boost Georgia tourism.
Over the years Wallace was recognized for his service and honored by organizations in the communities in which he lived. In Thomasville, Georgia a few of his recognitions include: Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce-Man of the Year; Rotary Club of Thomasville-Charles H. Watt Jr., M.D., Lifetime Service Award; the Rotary Millwood “Woody” Faircloth 4-Way Test Award “Of The Things We Think, Say, Or Do.” Wallace also holds the distinction in the Rotary International Foundation as a Paul Harris Fellow +4, and in the Georgia Rotary Student Program Foundation as a Kendall Weisiger Fellow.
On January 17, 1981, Wallace Goodman, Jr. and Deborah Louise Ruttman were married in Durant, Oklahoma, at his “home” church, the First United Methodist Church, where other family members attended over the years and were married and where he professed his faith in his Lord, Jesus Christ and was baptized. Wallace and Debbie were happily married for forty-four years. He was a loving husband, wonderful father to Michelle Lee Goodman, and the most loyal friend.
Wallace is survived by his wife, Dr. Debbie Goodman of Thomasville, Georgia; sister-in-law, Sue Ann Goodman, Oklahoma City; niece, Sara Lyn Pascal and husband, Bob Pascal, Jr., Darien, Connecticut; nephew, Dr. Mark Norman Goodman and wife, Mihaela Goodman, Oklahoma City; four grand-nieces, Gigi and Maisie Pascal, Darien, Connecticut; and Larissa and Audrina Goodman, Oklahoma City; and cousins, Virginia Koontz Young and husband, Dr. Jim Young, Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Dr. Mary Anne Davidson, Valley View, Texas; Goddaughter, Ella Clare Thomas, Thomasville, Georgia; and Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) student, Loreto Gonzalez Valderrama, Buin, Chile.
Wallace was preceded in death by his parents, Wallace Goodman Sr., a World War I veteran and businessman, who died in 1952, resulting from being gassed during the Battle of the Argonne Forest in France; and Evelyn Norman Goodman, a college professor and tennis coach, who died in 1972. His daughter Michelle Lee Goodman died in 1998.
Private graveside services will be at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Thomasville, Georgia, prior to the memorial service.
A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, Georgia, on Monday, May 5, 2025, at 11:00 am with Dr. Timothy Filston officiating. The family will receive friends in the church Fellowship Hall following the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to The First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, 225. E. Jackson Street, Thomasville, Georgia 31792; Thomas University-Michelle Lee Goodman Scholarship Endowment Fund, 1501 Millpond Road, Thomasville, Georgia 31792; or The Archbold Foundation-Lewis Hall Singletary Cancer Center, 910 South Broad Street, Thomasville, Georgia 31792.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Wallace Goodman, Jr., please visit our flower store.
Wallace loved growing up in Durant, Oklahoma, a town much like Thomasville, Georgia, his adopted hometown since 1993. He graduated from Durant High School in 1965, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Business from the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 1970. Having been a member of the Army Reserves while in college, the day after graduation from OU, he was on a bus to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for basic training.
After basic training, Wallace embarked on a 32-year career working in newspapers. He was Publisher of award-winning newspapers, including the Thomasville-Times Enterprise, which he published from 1993 to 1999. He also published newspapers in Oklahoma, Maine, and Enterprise, Alabama. In 1999, Wallace began a career as Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pebble Hill Plantation, a position he held for 18 years, retiring in 2017.
Wallace lived a lifetime of dedicated service to his communities, church, civic and military organizations, and to fellow citizens. As a member of First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, Georgia, he served as a ruling elder and as a member of the church finance committee. He was a lifelong University of Oklahoma “Sooner” Football fan, “win or lose,” and proudly sported “crimson and cream” attire on all game days.
Other organizations benefiting from his leadership skills and past service as a president or board chairman include: Thomasville Cultural Center (Center for the Arts), Rotary Club of Thomasville, Boys and Girls Club of Thomasville, and the Salvation Army.
Other organizations benefiting from his past service as a board member include: Thomasville History Center Board, the John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, the Archbold Medical Center Board of Directors, the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and the Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation. He also served as a member of other organizations including the Association of the United States Army-Bogardus S. Carins Chapter, Fort Rucker, Alabama. In 2014, representing Pebble Hill Plantation, Wallace, along with Don Sims, President of the local Chamber of Commerce, and then-Georgia Governor, Sonny Perdue, participated in a group traveling to Canada to boost Georgia tourism.
Over the years Wallace was recognized for his service and honored by organizations in the communities in which he lived. In Thomasville, Georgia a few of his recognitions include: Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce-Man of the Year; Rotary Club of Thomasville-Charles H. Watt Jr., M.D., Lifetime Service Award; the Rotary Millwood “Woody” Faircloth 4-Way Test Award “Of The Things We Think, Say, Or Do.” Wallace also holds the distinction in the Rotary International Foundation as a Paul Harris Fellow +4, and in the Georgia Rotary Student Program Foundation as a Kendall Weisiger Fellow.
On January 17, 1981, Wallace Goodman, Jr. and Deborah Louise Ruttman were married in Durant, Oklahoma, at his “home” church, the First United Methodist Church, where other family members attended over the years and were married and where he professed his faith in his Lord, Jesus Christ and was baptized. Wallace and Debbie were happily married for forty-four years. He was a loving husband, wonderful father to Michelle Lee Goodman, and the most loyal friend.
Wallace is survived by his wife, Dr. Debbie Goodman of Thomasville, Georgia; sister-in-law, Sue Ann Goodman, Oklahoma City; niece, Sara Lyn Pascal and husband, Bob Pascal, Jr., Darien, Connecticut; nephew, Dr. Mark Norman Goodman and wife, Mihaela Goodman, Oklahoma City; four grand-nieces, Gigi and Maisie Pascal, Darien, Connecticut; and Larissa and Audrina Goodman, Oklahoma City; and cousins, Virginia Koontz Young and husband, Dr. Jim Young, Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Dr. Mary Anne Davidson, Valley View, Texas; Goddaughter, Ella Clare Thomas, Thomasville, Georgia; and Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) student, Loreto Gonzalez Valderrama, Buin, Chile.
Wallace was preceded in death by his parents, Wallace Goodman Sr., a World War I veteran and businessman, who died in 1952, resulting from being gassed during the Battle of the Argonne Forest in France; and Evelyn Norman Goodman, a college professor and tennis coach, who died in 1972. His daughter Michelle Lee Goodman died in 1998.
Private graveside services will be at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Thomasville, Georgia, prior to the memorial service.
A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, Georgia, on Monday, May 5, 2025, at 11:00 am with Dr. Timothy Filston officiating. The family will receive friends in the church Fellowship Hall following the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to The First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, 225. E. Jackson Street, Thomasville, Georgia 31792; Thomas University-Michelle Lee Goodman Scholarship Endowment Fund, 1501 Millpond Road, Thomasville, Georgia 31792; or The Archbold Foundation-Lewis Hall Singletary Cancer Center, 910 South Broad Street, Thomasville, Georgia 31792.
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