Neil Goodale
March 26, 1935 - September 12, 2014
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Neil Goodale
March 26, 1935 - September 12, 2014
Obituary
Neil Goodale, a devoted family and crane man, died Friday, September 12th, 2014.
Neil Goodale was born March 26, 1935 in Wainwright, Alberta, Canada to Lloyd Goodale and Margaret MacDonald Goodale. He attended Squamish High in British Columbia, Canada. Following high school, Neil served in the Royal Canadian Navy.
In 1958, he married Catharina (Tina) Alida Mater and they had four children and six grandchildren. His favorite pastimes included selling cranes and talking to people.
Neil and Tina moved to Southern California in 1962 to pursue his construction career, building bridges, roads and pouring concrete all over California. Neil eventually started to work for Grove Cranes in 1974 as a National Accounts Manager. In 1977, he moved to the Philadelphia area to work for Stewart Equipment where he proceeded to sell cranes all over the world. In 1982, Neil started Goodale Crane and Equipment in Eagle, Pennsylvania. In 1994, he returned to California to work for Coast Crane as the Vice President and General Manager of Southern California until he retired in November 2011.
Neil is survived by his wife Tina, his daughter Lynn Goodale, his son Neil Goodale (Barbara), his daughter Lisa Ann Ossman (Dave), his six grandchildren: Christopher Goodale, Katie Bird, Ian Goodale, Brienna Ossman, Ben Goodale, and David Ossman, his sister Betty Jean Prosser, and his brothers Lonald Goodale (June), Brien Goodale (Donna), and Daniel Goodale (Marsha), and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents Lloyd and Margaret and his son Brien.
The funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of Fatima on Wednesday, September 17th at 10:30 a.m. in San Clemente.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to www.compasionatefriends.org or your favorite charity.
2 responses to Neil Goodale
Bob Lamberton says:
September 17, 2014
I worked with Neil as his salesman for just shy of a decade. I missed him the day after I left. He was a great leader, and easy man to follow with the exterior of a bear and the softness of a good person inside.
Neil was a fair and funny man with one unusual talent. Often he would mispronounce a last name once. Then somehow be able to recall the exact wrong pronunciation every-time. He would clobber the heck out of that name for years.
I’ll always remember the day Neil called me into the office to warn me I’d better learn our new computer system as quickly as possible. As he spoke with scissors in hand I noticed him cutting and then taping paragraphs of words on to a blank pieces of paper. I informed him he could do that “cut & paste” on his computer to which he stated “I don’t trust it, this is faster”.
I always knew I had a great Boss, what I didn’t know until much later was … I really had a good friend. Rest easy my old friend .. we are not long behind.
Bob & Sandy Lamberton
North Carolina,
Adaline Leir says:
June 13, 2015
Dear Tina and family,
I am so very sorry to learn of your dear husband’s recent death. I realize how hard it must be for you now. It is so hard to see that empty chair across the table from you as you are about to eat your meals. I now this from my own experience.
I have been searching for a way to be able to talk with you via the telephone or email.
We met ever so many, many years ago at a TCF conference and managed to meet a few times since our initial meeting at other TCF National conferences.
I can be reached at the email address you have from a couple years ago or else contact me via email at TCF Canada’s national office at:
nationaloffice@tcfcanada.net
I send you warm hugs and hope to hear from you soon,
In Friendship,
Adaline Leir
Your TCF Canadian connection.