Richard B. "Rick" Goins

The love of his life survives him, the former Mary Lynn Pearce Goins, of Cypress, Texas, and two children, William L. “Will” Goins (Halla Bearden) and Mary Kathleen Goins, of Houston, Texas, his mother, Mrs. Barbara Jean Goins, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and a brother, Troy A. Goins (Gail Yarbrough), of Chattanooga. He is also survived by eight nieces and nephews and a great-niece and great-nephew. He was preceded in death by his father, James Richard Goins, and maternal grandparents Claude and Flora Davidson, and paternal grandparents Arthur James and Anna Mae Summers Goins.

Rick loved the Lord, his family, his friends, and the University of Tennessee.

A native of Chattanooga, he was a 1978 co-valedictorian of Kirkman Technical High School. A 1987 graduate in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Rick was the 1997 Fall Commencement top graduate of the College of Communications at Tennessee with a Master of Science in Communications. He was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi and Kappa Tau Alpha chapters at the University of Tennessee and served on the Board of Directors of the Houston chapter of the Tennessee Alumni Association for 20+ years through 2023. He also completed post-graduate work in Change Management at Cornell University.

He loved to laugh and share tales from his Grandfather, Davidson, about life, hard times, the importance of family, and doing the right thing. Rick’s credo was “Trust God and leave the consequences to Him.” Those who worked with him will recall a professional who appreciated the deadline, the importance of proper grammar, “it doesn’t exist if it’s not written,” and “never make the first out at third base.”

His home office mirrored experiences shared with his family, at sporting events, kid activities from Scouting to softball, travels, mementos, and awards throughout. His greatest reward was time with family. Each year, they would go on adventures to new cities, Major League Baseball stadiums for a game, national parks to see God’s creation, or Dauphin Island, AL, to relax together – a special time indeed.

During his career, he was a Communications leader for energy, oil & gas, insurance, and medical technology companies. His favorite career stop was as Global Communications Leader for GE – a global company that Rick had loved since playing “GE College Bowl” back in the 1960s while sitting at his Granddaddy Davidson’s home in Highland Park (Chattanooga).

Rick was an award-winning communicator at GE and traveled the world several times over, making it to 5 continents. He saw venues and world capitals that only the pages of the National Geographic library in Mrs. Sorrells’ seventh-grade classroom at East Lake Junior High had previously divulged. However, his favorite trip was always the one from the driveway to his family’s front door.

Rick loved to fly. He served with the Chattanooga Civil Air Patrol unit 41013 in the Tennessee Wing, rising to the level of Cadet Colonel and earning the Carl A. Spaatz Award. He earned his private pilot license in the mid-1980s, only to give it up due to a lack of funds. At the time of his death, it was one of the very few regrets - other than not playing more golf with his Dad, James.

Please join Rick’s family and friends as they receive friends and celebrate his life at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home on Saturday January 31, 2026 from 4:00-6:00 pm.

Memorial donations are requested for Mission Aviation Fellowship as they share God’s Word of salvation. And play fetch with Rick’s dog, Chloe.

Please share your thoughts and memories of Rick online at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com

Chattanooga Funeral Home East Chapel has been entrusted with the arrangements.