Monday, October 09, 2023
David Alan Goldfoot-Biography
Nadene Goldfoot
My brother, David Alan Goldfoot, passed away October 8, 2023 in Austin, Texas from cancer of the liver. (High school graduation) On October 8, 2023, the world lost a remarkable man. David Alan Goldfoot passed away in Austin, Texas, at the age of 81. Born in Portland, Oregon, on August 2, 1942, to Maurice and Mildred Goldfoot, David grew up with his older sister, Nadene, in a multicultural community. All who knew him described David as brilliant, kind, fun loving, creative, and a wonderful friend.At just ten years of age, he broke barriers by becoming the first Jewish child to be named Prime Minister of Portland's Junior Rose Festival. In 2003, his lasting influence on his community was honored when he was knighted as Sir David Goldfoot of Rosaria. As a teen, he spent a summer as an AFS exchange student in Germany and developed a life-long interest in foreign languages. He became fluent in German and Dutch and learned Spanish and Greek before traveling.He graduated from Reed College in 1964. In December of that year, he married Heather Birnie, also from Portland. After David graduated from Oregon Health & Science University with a Ph.D. in Medical Psychology, the couple moved to the Netherlands, where he conducted postdoctoral research in reproductive endocrinology at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.David began his career as a research scientist at the Wisconsin Primate Research Center, where he authored or co-authored more than 25 papers. Later, he retrained in clinical psychology and co-founded Mental Health Solutions in Madison, Wisconsin. He was a widely respected psychologist who specialized in working with individuals with anger problems and sexual addictions. In addition to his clinical work, David's computer skills made the clinic run smoothly with innovative programs which documented clients' progress. After retirement in Austin, Texas, he developed smartphone apps to help individuals with behavioral addictions.David was curious and always looking for new challenges. He learned to play the dobro, made videos for the UT LAMP program and for special occasions with his many friends, taught his Austin friends to play poker, and supported Lorraine in her quest to turn Texas blue. David and Lorraine enjoyed exploring Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean islands. He loved to visit Germany and Austria so he could speak German with family and friends.David was a devoted father who taught his children to love learning and to treat all people equally. He supported their interests, celebrated their successes, and was there when times were difficult. As a partner, he was beyond compare supportive, kind, patient, and thoughtful.David will be remembered by his loving wife, Lorraine Broll, his sons Joel (Jill Jodar) and Josh (Matthew Berry), his daughter, Michelle, his sister, Nadene Goldfoot, and his beloved poodle, Roxy.There will be a celebration of David's life later this fall in Austin. In lieu of flowers, contributions in David's memory may be made to Cancer Research Institute (www.cancerresearch.org)
Surprisingly, our mother passed away on October 5, 2005 in Ontario, Oregon where she was living. 18 years previously.
This picture was back in the day that when we were walking around stores and such, Mom had a halter on him with a leash. You don't see that anymore, but it was very handy!
David accomplished much in his life of 81 years 2 months and 6 days. He was chosen Prime Minister of the Junior Rose Festival of Portland from the 4th grade with his reciting of "What are little boys made of? Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails, etc. He became a Foreign exchange student from Washington High to Germany for the summer; then Student body president at Washington High School.
He was a Reed College graduate-the Harvard of the West, who had caught some virus or bacteria in Germany before he left, causing him to later be ill during his Reed days which he had to deal with besides the heavy studies. He did it.
Earning his PhD degree after that in psychology was a fulfilled goal, working in Holland with monkeys; and even had an article about his work in Playboy magazine were coming events. Then he decided to work with people, and took more classes, so he had-really-2 PhD degrees in a way.
In the meantime, he had met Heather Bernie, another foreign exchange student from Portland, during their period of travel, and married, living in Holland long enough to give birth to 1st son, Joel. Joshua came along later as 2nd son in the states. David had set up his own clinic. My daughter reminded me that his first degree was in Endocrinology (glands) and headed up the primate center at the Univ of Wisconsin in Madison.. It was after that that he went back to school to get his degree in Psychology to work w/humans as opposed to apes.
David was a sweetheart and took the DNA test with Family tree DNA, a Houston, Texas company and the best for research, for me. He tested for the Y haplogroup and the mtDNA. haplogroup. This helped me in my study of our family line, without it couldn't have done it.
Much later, David was divorced and married Lorraine Broll, a child psychologist in his clinic. They had Michelle, and were living in Austin. .JPG)
Lorraine, me, David
David and Lorraine loved to travel, so have taken in much of this world. He took time to visit us often, and even stayed with me when I had a knee replacement operation and helped me. They had a group of friends they traveled with, which made it much more fun for them. Their last trip was to Iceland, a brilliant way of escaping Austin's heat.
Rest in peace, David. We'll miss you so much. People don't understand, just knowing he was there gave us all such a mental security. We didn't have be be living together to feel this. We could reach out with today's communications. He'll live in our minds with us.
Labels: Goldfoot genealogy
