Carl Goodson

Carl Edward Goodson, 92, of Little Rock, died Wednesday following a long illness. Born July 31, 1917, in St. Louis, he was the son of the late Harry Edward and Clara Irene Cummins Goodson. By their example, his parents nurtured a deep respect for tradition, discipline and hard work that shaped Dr. Goodson's distinguished life - from a childhood of enthusiastic devotion to scouting or learning gardening and woodworking from his dad, through a career dedicated to excellence in ministry and academia.

Following graduation from Beaumont High School in St. Louis, Dr. Goodson worked at a screen factory until he could save money to put himself through Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, Mo., and William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., where he earned degrees in theology and Biblical history in 1941. While pursuing a master's degree in theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., he became engaged to his future wife, Rozelle Wordingham Palmer, also a student at Southern. The Goodsons were married in 1944.

In addition to German and French, Dr. Goodson was fluent in Greek and Latin. He taught these languages, as well as Biblical history, at Southwest while he earned a doctorate at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. During the late 1950s and early '60s, he cultivated a life-long love of travel, as well as an inclusive world view, with numerous tours of Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Lebanon. Sundays were spent preaching at one of many small southern Missouri churches, where congregants frequently paid him in produce from their gardens.

Dr. Goodson moved his family to Arkadelphia in 1961, where he taught at Ouachita Baptist College (now University) and was eventually named head of the department of Biblical studies. At Ouachita, the Goodsons received a well-earned reputation for freely opening their home to exchange students who came to regard them as mentors, and friends. In 1968, Dr. Goodson became dean of the St. Louis campus of the newly-founded Missouri Baptist College, where he served until 1970, when he returned to Ouachita to serve as Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

At 65, Dr. Goodson resigned as Dean and joined the OBU faculty as a part-time professor. He was a true scholar and wordsmith who loved to teach, who appreciated the power of words and encouraged a love of learning in others. He was a standard-bearer for academics at Ouachita, and wouldn't settle for bending rules and regulations that supported high standards - earning himself the moniker "Dr. No."

He continued to teach Bible courses and adult literacy classes, and was active in Kiwanis and the Clark County chapter of the American Red Cross even through retirement.

Dr. Goodson is survived by his wife, Rozelle, and their children, Mary Lynn Goodson and Dr. Timothy Carl Goodson and his wife, Judith, all of Little Rock; Nancy Lea Goodson Mills and her husband, Dennis, of San Antonio, Texas; Margery Clare Goodson Lumpkin and her husband, Daniel, of Houston, Texas; and Charlotte Goodson of Charlotte, N.C.; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Berry Chapel on the Ouachita campus. The family will receive visitors from 6-8 p.m. Friday at Ruggles-Wilcox Funeral Home, 517 Clay Street, in Arkadelphia. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Carl Goodson Endowed Research fund benefitting students of the Dr. Carl Goodson Honors Program at Ouachita.