Alvin Goldberg

He is survived by Esther (Estera Bengis), his wife of 55 years; his son, Scott, and daughter-in-law, Lindsay Hanson, of New York City; and his sister, Helene Eisner, of Sarasota, Florida.

He was a beloved husband, father, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, friend and mentor to many.

Al was born on February 5, 1942, in St. Louis, to Harry C. and Rose (Recht) Goldberg. He majored in journalism at the University of Missouri, where his studies were interrupted briefly when his Air National Guard unit was called up for the Berlin Crisis of 1961. After he returned from Europe, he completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Al started his newspaper career as a reporter in Flint, Michigan. He then wrote for his hometown paper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, before settling at the Kansas City Star, where he spent 23 years. He had a knack for building sources and spotting details others missed.

Al was a writer at heart and a problem solver by nature, which led him into management. He oversaw the Star’s transition from typewriters to computers, and when the computers crashed, he was the only person who could bring them back. One of the Star’s columnists was so impressed he wrote about Al’s work under the headline “Computer whiz saves the day.” That column is framed and still hanging in Al’s home office.

Al was passionate about family and dedicated to his communities, from Kansas City to Tucson. He was a volunteer scoutmaster for a troop of Boy Scouts with special needs. He also volunteered as a court advocate for abused and neglected children in Johnson County, Kansas. In Arizona, he helped provide clothes to kids whose families could not afford them.

To his immediate family, Al was a rock, a coach, an adviser, a champion, a goofy uncle, a crowd pleaser. He had a wicked sense of humor, and he made everyone in his orbit laugh – most of the time, intentionally. He also believed, deeply, that no child, especially his own, should grow up without a dog.

Al will be remembered by those who knew him best as a man who demonstrated, and made them feel, a profound kind of love.

The family asks those wishing to honor Al’s memory to make a contribution in his name to the Barrow Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, or the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.