Mrs. Janet Goodwin

Mrs. Janet Patricia Lewis Goodwin, the loving wife of Franklin R. Goodwin for 57 years, 2 months, and 22 days was born on February 25, 1938, to the late Robert Lewis and the late Helen Neal Lewis Hooks in Charlotte, North Carolina. She departed this earthly life at home, surrounded by her immediate family, around 6:50 AM on September 20, 2021.

Janet was primarily raised by her grandmother, the late Carrie Lewis, her aunts, the late Eva and Ruth Clarke, and her father, Robert Lewis. She also received much guidance from her uncle, John Clarke.

She went to Myers Street Elementary from 1944 to 1946 for first and second grade. In 1947, Janet and her sister, Edith, moved to New York to live with their mother and stepfather, Albert and Helen Hooks. While there, she attended PS 194 Elementary School from 3rd grade to the 5th grade. She moved back to Charlotte in 1949 and returned to Myers Street Elementary School to finish her elementary schooling. After elementary school, Janet went to Second Ward High School right across the street from her home. She graduated from Second Ward High School in the Class of 1956.

Janet’s first job after high school was at Charlotte Memorial Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. This hospital is now called Carolina Memorial Center.

Janet attended Charlotte Mecklenburg Junior College for two years, where she received an Associate Degree upon graduation.

In 1963, Janet officially met and fell in love with Franklin R. Goodwin. Their favorite song was “The Touch of Your Hand” by Brook Benton. They were married in Washington, D. C. on June 28, 1964. From this union, they were blessed with one son, Tyrone B. Goodwin.

Janet was an army wife for 21 years. She traveled with her husband, Franklin, to Fort Bliss, Texas, Fort Carson, Colorado, the Presidio of San Francisco, California, and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. When Franklin retired from the US Army, Janet stated that she did not want to move again, so they remained in the same house they purchased in 1982 when they arrived at Fort Jackson. Janet enjoyed the life that being a military wife provided her. She could be found saying that the experience was wonderful and at times very rewarding.

Janet began her employment with the Department of Defense Commissary Agency at the Hamilton Air Force Base Commissary in Novato, California for five years and Fort Jackson Commissary for 35 years. Janet retired on November 3, 2019, with 40 years of total federal service. Janet had numerous jobs over the years before the Department of Defense employed her. She worked as an Event Coordinator for the Charlotte YMCA; Mack Vending Company in Maryland; Drug Fair Cashier and short-order cook; H&R Block doing taxes in Washington and Colorado; Military Dining Room food worker in the (VOLA) Volunteer Army, Fort Carson, Colorado where she learned how to run a buffer. Upon moving back to Charlotte, NC when Franklin was assigned to Vietnam, she trained as a Nurse Assistant; Telephone Operator; she worked for four years for Canteen Vending Company in Charlotte, NC.

When Franklin retired from the US Army and finally settled down in Columbia, Janet changed her church membership from St. Paul Baptist Church to Gethsemane Baptist Church, Blair, SC in 1989. She was a dedicated supporter of the church’s Hospitality Committee, often donating and preparing food for church special days before joining Gethsemane Baptist Church.

In 2019, Janet discovered after having surgery that she had stage 4 Colon Cancer. With her illness and considering the distance to Blair, she and her husband moved their membership to Bethlehem Baptist Church, College Place, Columbia, in April 2020.

In addition to her parents, grandmother, and aunts, Janet was preceded in death by her step-parents, Albert and Elveta Hooks; three siblings, Edith Lewis Nicholas, Sadie Lewis, and Sondra Hooks; two brothers-in-law, Manuel Nicholas and James Frederick Goodwin; mother-in-law, Lucy A. Goodwin; and twin great-grandchildren, Talia and Jeremiah Hurst.

She leaves to cherish fond memories of her life, her dear husband, Franklin R. Goodwin of the home; son, Tyrone B. (Jeanette) Goodwin of Hephzibah, GA; granddaughter, Shenika (Quintavious) Hurst; five great-grandchildren, Quintavious Hurst, Jr., Jonathan Hurst, Sundai Hurst, Charity Hurst, and Samuel Hurst all of Hephzibah, GA; one brother-in-law, Herman L. Goodwin of Charlotte, NC; two sisters-in-law, Gladys Goodwin and Vergaline Goodwin both of Charlotte, NC; special cousin, Nancy McIwain of Charlotte, NC; three self-adopted daughters, Regail Coleman, Nancy Thompson, and Nichole Simmons; godchildren, Rebecca and Calvin Davis; and a host of other relatives and friends.

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