Wilbur Jackie Goolkasian

Wilbur J. Goolkasian died peacefully at the Nazareth House in Fresno CA on Sunday January 3rd, 2021. Wilbur grew up in Reedley, California, with parents Martin Goolkasian and Lena (Coviello) Goolkasian and sister Elaine. He was particularly close to his many Armenian and Italian aunts and uncles and often shared stories of weekends they spent visiting at each other’s houses. Wilbur attended Santa Clara University with pride (The Dynamic Class of ’56!), graduating with a bachelor’s degree in commerce. After participating in the ROTC program, he completed his service as a first lieutenant in the Army and spent a number of subsequent years in the Army Reserves. While stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Wilbur mastered his target shooting skills and won many awards participating in pistol and long-range rifle competitions.

At the age of 26 and now working for The Emporium in San Francisco, Wilbur met a beautiful girl who had recently emigrated to the US from Germany and they were soon engaged to be married. Ingeburg Meining had promised her parents that she would travel back to Germany for a visit before the ceremony. Wilbur was so smitten that he couldn’t wait for her return, and he made a surprise visit to Germany to marry her there. Wilbur and Ingeburg were married in her hometown of Grafenrheinfeld and honeymooned in Oberammergau before returning to the US.

The couple moved to Fresno to start their family and after a short stint with Guarantee Bank, Wilbur began his life-long career at the Internal Revenue Service. Wilbur began his career as a Revenue Agent and eventually joined the Criminal Investigation Division as an IRS Special Agent. After short assignments including his initial Special Agent training in Washington DC and then as a Group Manager in Sacramento, Wilbur transferred to Fresno and spent the remaining 21 years of his working life as a federal tax investigator. He loved to share stories about his lengthy tax cases and took pride in describing how his team steadily put together the investigations and resulting criminal prosecutions, always careful to not divulge confidential information. Wilbur retired from the IRS in 1994.

Wilbur loved the outdoors from an early age. He grew up fishing and hunting and shared many outdoor pastimes with his wife and six children, including regular camping trips at Huntington Lake and Pismo Beach and introducing his children and grandchildren to fishing, waterskiing, and target shooting. He carried on the heritage of his Armenian grandfather’s and father’s fruit growing practice, tending many different varieties in his own yard and passing on this tradition to his children. He loved travelling with his rotating assortment of recreational vehicles and retired to Umpqua, Oregon in 1997. Wilbur enjoyed his retirement years spent overlooking the Umpqua River, ocean crabbing with his son and sons-in-law and fishing with his grandchildren.

Wilbur’s steadfast Catholic faith inculcated by his Italian mother Lena and reinforced by his Santa Clara education played a large part in his life. Wilbur attended weekly Mass with his family and regularly participated in church activities at St. Hellen’s Church in Fresno including teaching catechism, serving as President of the Parish Advisory Council, and leading the Right of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program. It was especially fitting that he was well cared for in his last days by the wonderful caring staff at the Nazareth House of Fresno.

Wilbur is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years Ingeburg, son Todd, daughters Deborah, Christine, Theresa, Bettina, and Elizabeth, his loving daughter- and sons-in-law, and his 14 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nazareth House of Fresno, 2121 N. Fresno Street, Fresno CA 93703. For more complete information please visit whitehurstsulivan.com.