Major Kenneth Charles Goold Jr. (USAF Retired)

Major Kenneth Charles Goold, Jr. (USAF Retired) passed away peacefully on June 24, 2018 in Raleigh. He was 82 years old. He is survived by his wife of 60 years Ruthie Monson Goold, originally of Duluth, MN, and by their two children, Mary Wood, of Raleigh and Kenneth Goold III, of Mebane, and by two grandchildren, Caroline Wood, of Wrightsville Beach and Clayton Wood, of Raleigh.

Maj. Goold was born on March 4, 1936 in Carmel, CA and was the son of Kenneth Sr. and Amy Jaehne Goold. He grew up in Carmel in a family with a long history in the small town. He attended the Junipero Serra School at the Carmel Mission, where he was also an altar boy and where his great-grandfather, Christiano Machado, had found the long-lost grave of Saint Junipero Serra. After graduating from high school in 1954, he began a long career as an officer in the US Air Force, and by 1963 he was flying combat missions as an Air Commando in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. He served many tours in Vietnam and Korea before that, and while he initially flew B-26 bombers, later in the war he was flying C-130 Hercules transport planes bringing fallen soldiers back to their families in the US. From 1959 to 1976 Ken and his family lived all over the world as he served his country as a pilot. Maj. Goold was honored as a long-time member of the Daedelions, a society of military combat aviators formed in 1934 to honor WWI pilots. The Air Force recognized his service with a variety of medals, including the Vietnam Service Medal, Gallant Unit Citations, Air Force Commendation Medal and two Aerial Achievement Medals, among others.

Maj. Goold retired at Pope AFB, NC and lived in Broadway, NC and Carolina Lakes near Sanford, NC. After his military service he worked in a variety of companies in the area, including Daniels Construction Company at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant. Ken was a quiet family man with a dry sense of humor who was active in the community at Carolina Lakes. He was an avid reader and visited the library in Sanford several times a week. He also enjoyed golfing, swimming and traveling the country with Ruthie. For many years Ken and Ruthie enjoyed living part-time at the beach at Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, NC.

On May 24, 2018, exactly one month prior to his death, Ken and Ruthie celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary with friends and family at Sunrise of Raleigh.

A family visitation will be held on Saturday, July 21 at 3:00PM followed at 4:00PM with a memorial service with full military honors. The service will be held at Mitchell Funeral Home, 7209 Glenwood Ave Raleigh, NC.