Birth date: Jul 15, 1953 Death date: Jan 20, 2021
Decatur – Keith C. Gooding, 67, of Warrensburg, passed away on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Keith was born on July 15, 1953, in Bloomington, IL, the son of Robert L. and Margaret A. (Smith) Gooding. A graduate of MacArthur High S Read Obituary
I'm late doing this due to health issues. Keith and I were both born on July 15 1953. We were a lot alike in our younger days. I was a heartbeat racing up and down Eldorado. There was a large group of us. We went roller skating and tied our boats together in Lake Decatur. I am glad for these memories. Kieth was a good person. My condolences to his family and friends.
My condolences to the Gooding family and Keith’s extended family. Keith took great care of my work and personal vehicles. I so appreciated his knowledge and honesty, especially as a single mom with a lengthy work commute and teen drivers at home. I gladly recommended Bud Leach and then Gooding’s over the years. Keith was a wonderful person and will be missed tremendously! Mary Ann Todd
I’m so sorry to read of Keith’s passing. One of the highlights of my day was popping in to deliver the mail at the shop & shoot the crap with the guys. How heartbreaking! My condolences to the family & many friends!
I'm sorry to read about Keith, I was a customer for years. Always helpful and especially honest he was always there for his customers.
To the Gooding Family. I am so sorry to hear about Keith. I moved to Decatur in 1982 and I was fortunate that someone recommended Bud Leach Garage to have my car serviced. Keith was my go to when it came to car repairs. He kept many of my cars going to upwards of 160,000 miles. One car in particular, I had a Pontiac Grand Prix which I drove for about seven years, and then gave to my daughter Kathryn to drive when she turned 16. It had about 100,000 miles on it at the time, I was hoping it would get her through high school. When she graduated from St. T, that car got passed down to my son Patrick and then he drove it another three years. We finally had Keith help sell that car when it had 160,000 miles on it. Keith was as honest and hard working as anyone I ever met. My only problem with Keith is sometimes if I needed something very minor done (new taillight for example) it was hard to get him to take any money for his help. We appreciated all his help over the years. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Bill and Nanette Krueger
Very fond memories of Kieth!!!!! What a great guy!! That vehicle he drove in the 70's!! We got a lot of us into the drivin theater for free!!💕
For the family of Keith Gooding,
We never met a nicer guy and an excellent mechanic. We will miss his friendly smile and great personality. We have been going to their garage for over 30 years. My condolence and memories to all his family.
Steve and Lynda Atchason
Keith was one of the really good guys. He helped me at a time when I had little money and no family close by to give me advice. Keith gave me the "after hours discount price" on car work. I don't know any other garage owner who would have helped someone in that way. Because of Keith my car was in good working order and I didn't have to miss work. He was so honest with his customers and friends. He always had time to talk to you and answer your questions. As a business person, his honesty and hard work was what kept folks coming came back to his shop. As a person, he was kind, compassionate and caring. I hope I can touch someone's life like Keith touched mine. His ability to help others is something this world could use a whole lot more of. Bless you Keith. For his family I am so sorry for your loss.
Terry Meyer Stewart
Keith was a good natured kid we could look up to each year at St. Thomas. You could see the good qualities in him and it appears he started well principled in life and finished even better. Jesus calls home another one of the good guys. May blessings of the Good Lord comfort his family and friends.
Keith was one of the kindest people I ever knew. I will always treasure the conversations we had as he drove me to work whenever my car was in the shop. We discovered that we had friends and experiences in common. He never forgot from one visit to the next what we had talked about before and would ask for updates. Even though he retired from taking care of cars, when I had an issue with mine, he had me come in one evening so he could check it out for himself. He was the soul of kindness. He talked that night about having started working at St. Mary's with Valet Parking and he was so happy to still be around cars in some way while providing a service. He will be missed.
