Harry Gordon Goodykoontz

taneya — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 19:40:00 +0000

Well there’s a Koonce surname variation I’ve not seen before

While going through the old college yearbooks of Davidson College in North Carolina and came across the photo of Harry Gordon Goodykoontz, a 1927 graduate of the college.

Harry was from Bluefield, West Virginia and received a Bachelor of Arts in English. His page shows he participated heavily in school activities, including Track. I loved the statement that he has a way of “…dashing through the hearts of those who know him with the strange paradox of at the same time staying there.”

Harry was born December 13, 1906 and passed away June 20, 1998 [1]. His obituary states that he was a native of Roanoke, Virginia and was a Professor of Christian Education at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary for 25 years. Harry was an author as well.

He was the son of John F. & Nellie K. Goodykoontz. John worked as a Train Master for the railroad according to the family’s 1920 Bluefield, West Virginia census record [2]. I haven’t done any investigation, but perhaps Harry is part of the Goodykoontz lineage descended from a “Gutenkunst” of Germany. Interesting for sure! Maybe at some point in the future I’ll explore the Goodykoontz family further.

Update: connect with Ancestry user PRICE1073 if you’re researching this family.

[1] Social Security Death Index provided by GenealogyBank.com

[2] 1920 US Census. District 79, Bluefield, Mercer County, West Virginia. (Link access requires subscription).

Jeffrey Wayne Koonce

taneya — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Sgt. Jeffrey Wayne Koonce is a Vietnam Veteran who died while missing in action. He was born May 23, 1947 and died November 19, 1967 at age 20. He served with the 2nd battalion of the 503rd infantry, Company C. Jeffrey had only joined the army in June of 1967 and reported his hometown as Union, New Jersey. Jeffrey’s body was recovered and he is buried in Rosedale and Rosehill Cemetery in Linden, New Jersey.

Tombstone: Jeffrey Wayne Koonce. Digital image. FindAGrave. 20 Feb. 2007. Web.

<http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18001587>

Research task: I would love to locate a newspaper article or obituary for his death.

Koonce Genealogy » Non-Database Persons

Harry Gordon Goodykoontz

Jeffrey Wayne Koonce