Preston "Wayne" Goforth

Wayne loved being outdoors, especially in the woods. He was very proud to have graduated from the University of Tennessee where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Forestry. Timber was his life's work and his passion. You could often find him fishing, golfing, or playing softball with the Oakridge Boys' Club Alumni. Wayne also spent a lot of time out hiking every trail he could find in the Smokies in Tennessee with one of his good friends in his younger days.

Wayne earned an honorable discharge from the United States Army in 1971. He was happily married to his loving wife, Lanie Goforth, in 1992. They spent 36 years together in total. Later in life, they added to their family. First by adopting his granddaughter, Raven. And in 2013, they added four additional children to their family.

Wayne owned Goforth Timber Company for 30+ years and worked with the East Tennessee Wood Products and often partnered on projects with his good friend and brother in Christ, Ronald Dixon.

Preston Wayne Goforth was a man of total integrity. He was an honest, hardworking, kind, and soft-spoken man who loved his children and the Lord. His legacy will carry on in the hearts of his family.

Wayne is preceded in death by his parents, Preston and Vernice Goforth; his son, Joshua Lynn Goforth; his sister, Pamela Goforth; and his brothers in Christ, Ronald Dixon of Seymour, TN and Steve Taylor of Knoxville, TN.

He is survived by his wife, Lanie Goforth; his children: Kristen Nicole Goforth, Raven Blake Goforth, Brooklyn Summer Goforth, Jaxon Hunington Goforth, William Logan Goforth, and Preston Aleczander Goforth; his granddaughters, Angelica "Angel" Krebs and Hadley Blake Webber; his great-granddaughter, Amara Krebs; his brother, Danny Goforth of Florida; his sister, Donna Mitchell, and husband, Phillip, of Georgia; and his lapdog, Mayhem.

The family will be having a memorial service Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 11 am. it will be held at First Baptist Church of Fruitvale with Bro. Freddy Burden officiating.

Keep the family in your thoughts and prayers as they finalize plans to take Wayne to Tennessee for a memorial service for friends and family who cannot attend the service in Fruitvale, TX.

In lieu of flowers, if you would like to make monetary donations to either Tunnel to Towers or Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research in his honor.