Rick was one of my freshman quad-mates. Extremely intelligent and intellectually curious, he deceptively played the naive flower chid from the Indiana frontier. His relentless wit could be biting, self-deprecating and downright hilarious and farcical, and was an integral part of his personality. He might be the only person I have known who could be cuttingly perceptive, incisive, poetic and downright funny simultaneously, and all the while pretending his tongue was in his cheek. He was a Francophile, who was arguably the finest freshman French conversationalist on campus. I would wager that he was the only freshman to ever have prepared snails in garlic sauce in the Price dorm kitchen.
Post-Oberlin, this ostensibly happy-go-lucky, somewhat hipster personality evolved into a highly respected attorney, intensely devoted to his closely-knit family, a patron of the arts and literature, and a community leader. A renaissance man of sorts, who continued to love French cuisine.
If ever a person benefitted from a liberal education, it was he.
Steve, thanks for your kind comments about rick. We became friends as co-cooks help in the south quad kitchen. I lost touch with him. Thanks for filling in the missing pieces.
Steve, thanks so much for your wonderful tribute to Rick Goddard. I had the great fortune of living a couple of houses away from Rick in Cleveland Heights. He was such a wonderful neighbor in all the ways you described. One of our neighbors, Franklin Cohen (principal clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra for many years), along with his daughter Diana (concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra) co-founded ChamberFest Cleveland, which we in the neighborhood like to call ChamberHood, since it is so deeply embedded in our neighborhood each summer. Rick served as chair of the board of ChamberFest Cleveland and loved to host musicians each summer. The musicians all sought to stay with Rick as he was known to provide amazing home-cooked meals during their stays (I'm not sure that snails in garlic sauce was ever on the menu). One of his many talents was fly fishing. He took great pride in tying his own exquisite flies. He was eager to share his love of fly fishing with others and invited me to go along with him on one occasion. A beginner, I recall losing a number of his creations in the bushes along the shore where he patiently tried to teach me the art. I ended up catching a small-mouth bass; he didn't catch anything that day. I wasn't invited for a second outing. Listening to his stories about growing up in a large family in Indiana, where scholarship was not highly valued, and then his time at Oberlin, was a privilege I cherish.
To your wonderful tribute, I would add: if ever the world benefited from someone who received a liberal education at Oberlin, it was from Rick.
Steven Samuels
Rick was one of my freshman quad-mates. Extremely intelligent and intellectually curious, he deceptively played the naive flower chid from the Indiana frontier. His relentless wit could be biting, self-deprecating and downright hilarious and farcical, and was an integral part of his personality. He might be the only person I have known who could be cuttingly perceptive, incisive, poetic and downright funny simultaneously, and all the while pretending his tongue was in his cheek. He was a Francophile, who was arguably the finest freshman French conversationalist on campus. I would wager that he was the only freshman to ever have prepared snails in garlic sauce in the Price dorm kitchen.
Post-Oberlin, this ostensibly happy-go-lucky, somewhat hipster personality evolved into a highly respected attorney, intensely devoted to his closely-knit family, a patron of the arts and literature, and a community leader. A renaissance man of sorts, who continued to love French cuisine.
If ever a person benefitted from a liberal education, it was he.
Steve Samuels
Casey Cook
Steve, thanks for your kind comments about rick. We became friends as co-cooks help in the south quad kitchen. I lost touch with him. Thanks for filling in the missing pieces.
Casey cook
Jan Heininger
Steve, such a touching tribute to Rick. Thanks so much for posting it.
Jan Heininger
William Katzin
Steve, thanks so much for your wonderful tribute to Rick Goddard. I had the great fortune of living a couple of houses away from Rick in Cleveland Heights. He was such a wonderful neighbor in all the ways you described. One of our neighbors, Franklin Cohen (principal clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra for many years), along with his daughter Diana (concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra) co-founded ChamberFest Cleveland, which we in the neighborhood like to call ChamberHood, since it is so deeply embedded in our neighborhood each summer. Rick served as chair of the board of ChamberFest Cleveland and loved to host musicians each summer. The musicians all sought to stay with Rick as he was known to provide amazing home-cooked meals during their stays (I'm not sure that snails in garlic sauce was ever on the menu). One of his many talents was fly fishing. He took great pride in tying his own exquisite flies. He was eager to share his love of fly fishing with others and invited me to go along with him on one occasion. A beginner, I recall losing a number of his creations in the bushes along the shore where he patiently tried to teach me the art. I ended up catching a small-mouth bass; he didn't catch anything that day. I wasn't invited for a second outing. Listening to his stories about growing up in a large family in Indiana, where scholarship was not highly valued, and then his time at Oberlin, was a privilege I cherish.
To your wonderful tribute, I would add: if ever the world benefited from someone who received a liberal education at Oberlin, it was from Rick.
Willie Katzin