Bobby Craig Goode

Bobby Craig Goode, of Huntsville, Alabama, passed away Friday, April 16, 2021. He was 86 years old.

Bobby was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years Mary Dell Beddingfield, parents Melvin Agee Goode and Abby Ola Craig, sister, Josephine Johnson, and brother William “Bill” Goode. He is survived by sons Melvin (Joyce) Goode and Wayne (Kim) Goode, grandchildren Kristen Goode, Kelly (Jesse) Goode Cannon and Daniel Goode, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Bobby was born May 10, 1934 in Rogersville, Alabama.  He attended several schools across the southeast. In 1952 he left high school early to enlist in the United States Air Force.

While in the Air Force he served as an electrician, completed his GED, and earned a National Defense Service Medal and other awards. Senior Master Sergeant Goode left active duty in 1956.  He joined the Air Force Reserves, where he served until his retirement in 1994.

After leaving the Air Force, Bobby began a career as a civil servant at the Redstone Arsenal where he met Mary Dell Beddingfield and began flirting with his future wife by anonymously leaving candy bars on her desk.

Bobby and Mary Dell married October 11, 1959, in Athens, Alabama. They had two sons, Melvin and Wayne, and took care of other family members and foster children.

When Melvin and Wayne were in high school, they decided it would be fun to call their parents Grandma and Grandpa. The names stuck. Almost a decade later, they finally became Grandma and Grandpa when Kristen was born, and again with Kelly and then Daniel.

Grandpa adored his grandchildren, and it was evident to anyone who met them. Kristen and Kelly were his “precious little granddaughters,” Daniel was his “precious little grandson,” and if you only knew them from Bobby’s stories, you’d believe they were just five years old, not in their twenties. Grandpa often took his three beloved grandchildren on trips across Alabama and Tennessee to show them the beauty of God’s creation.

A Christian, husband, father, grandpa, and friend, Bobby will be remembered as a patient, empathetic, and kind man who was loyal and generous to a fault. He was a best friend whose love of Moon Pies, root beer, and pickles was second only to his love of family, friends, and pets.

Visitation will be Tuesday, April 20, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., at Spry Funeral Home in Huntsville, Alabama. The funeral will be Wednesday, April 21, at 1:00 p.m., also at Spry. Burial will follow the funeral in Winchester Memorial Park, Winchester, Tennessee. At the request of the family, masks are mandatory.

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