[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 32 (Friday, March 20, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S2372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JUNE K. GOODMAN

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a true 
champion of public education and the arts: June K. Goodman of Danbury, 
Connecticut. Sadly, Mrs. Goodman recently died at the age of 77.
  One of the greatest gifts that June Goodman's parents gave her was an 
appreciation and a passion for opera and the performing arts. Just as 
they also provided her with a sense of community and an unfailing 
commitment to helping others. She had many jobs, including teaching, 
but what set her apart from others was her volunteer work.
  She directed the Danbury Music Center for 20 years and helped found 
the Charles Ives Center for the Performing Arts in Danbury. She also 
served on the board for the National Theater of the Deaf in Chester. In 
Hartford, she was best known for her unpaid service as Chairwoman of 
the State Board of Education and the Commission on the Arts. During the 
1970s and 1980s she would actually make the 100 mile round-trip to 
Hartford several times each week to serve in these posts.
  June Goodman attained a national reputation for her expertise and 
work in the arts. In fact, President Carter often called on her for her 
advice and ideas. But the focus of her work always shone brightest on 
her home town and the state.
  For more than 40 years, Mrs. Goodman was a close friend to the famed 
opera singer Marian Anderson, who also hailed from Danbury. In 1990, 
Mrs. Goodman established the Marian Anderson Award fund, which provides 
grant assistance for talented opera singers throughout the country. 
After her passing, Mrs. Goodman's family asked that donations be made 
to the Anderson Award fund. This fund will serve as living testament to 
both of their legacies.
  June Goodman was an extraordinary woman and a true treasure. She will 
be dearly missed. She is survived by her husband, William, her five 
children, her six grandchildren, her sister and her brother. I offer my 
heartfelt condolences to them all.

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