Myrna D. Goodwin - Obituary

ur mother, Myrna Dianne Harmon Goodwin, passed away on September 8, 2025, in Solomons, Maryland. She was 86 years old. The daughter of a successful ranching family in eastern Montana, Myrna never forgot where she came from. Born in 1939, she was one of eleven children and the youngest daughter of William and Gladys Harmon. After graduating from Bainville High School, she earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Minot State University in North Dakota. There she met her future husband Ralph Goodwin, an Air Force officer stationed at Minot Air Force Base. Together, they raised four children while living in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and then Vienna, Virginia, where they lived for 30 years. Along the way, Myrna was a troop leader for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and directed the youth choir in several churches. No one was surprised when she was featured as mom of the year in The Clemmons Courier in 1972. Myrna and Ralph and the kids also traveled in their Winnebago camper to all 48 of the continental United States plus Canada and Mexico. Myrna loved to sing and she loved to teach, no matter the subject. She had a strong Christian faith, and was an active member of the church throughout her life. Myrna made friends easily, an important skill since she started all over again in Alabama after she lost her husband of 42 years in 2007. Her laugh was big and contagious, and attracted both the outgoing and the shy. She was forthright about her views and occasionally ruffled feathers, including the time she encouraged the school audience to stand for her chorus’s performance of Lift Every Voice, the black national anthem. The role she loved the most was being Grams to her many grandchildren. At 83, she was still having sleepovers with her delighted youngest grandson, giggling and telling stories under the covers late into the night. Myrna is survived by her four children: Brenda Dixon (Bud), Dan Goodwin (Kate), Ralph Goodwin III, John Goodwin (Tina); her grandchildren Michael, Colton, Ralphie IV, Jessica, Savannah, and Luke; her siblings Rita Booth and David Harmon; 43 nieces and nephews; and numerous friends. She loved and was loved by them all. Gifts in her memory can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to the Southern Poverty Law Center.