Herbert Thatcher Gouldon
May 24, 1923 to April 22, 2006
Herbert T. Gouldon (82) of Boca Raton passed away peacefully on April 22, 2006 after a brief illness.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Fay Baird Gouldon of Boca Raton, his children, Jay T. Gouldon, of Charleston, SC, Grant B. Gouldon of Santa Cruz, CA and Tracy F. Palmer of Coral Springs,
FL and his seven grandchildren: Jason Gouldon, Maggie Gouldon, Zachariah Gouldon, Elizabeth Gouldon, Philip Gouldon, Jennifer Hernandez, and Harley Palmer.
Mr. Gouldon is also survived by his brother Steve Carter of Campbell CA and his sister Ruth Kaufman of Boca Raton.
Mr. Gouldon began his long and distinguished life in Detroit, MI but grew up in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, New York.
With the advent of World War II, Mr. Gouldon didn't hesitate to join the Army Air Corps., and proudly served his country as a navigator in the B-24 bomber known as “Shadow.”
Capt. Gouldon and his crew were part of the famous 450th Bomb Group which was nicknamed the “Cottontails.”
They completed an unheard of 50 combat missions out of Manduria, Italy as part of the 15th Army Air Force, flying strategic bombing missions which struck targets that were out of the reach
of the 8th Army Air Force bases in England.
After the war, Mr. Gouldon returned to New York with his wife, Mary Fay, whom, before being deployed overseas, he had met and married in Miami during flight-training at the
University of Miami. His young bride had also served her country during the war as a Pilot in the Civil Air Patrol. The young couple settled in Brooklyn, and while Mr. Gouldon
completed his studies at NYU he began his long and illustrious career in international business that would eventually take his young family to live in Japan, England, Germany and Hong Kong.
After traveling the world for most of his adult life, as life has a way of coming full-circle, Mr. Gouldon returned to Florida and settled in Boca Raton where as a young airman he had learned to
fly out of the then Boca Raton Airfield.
Mr. Gouldon was a devoted and generous husband, father, and “grampa,” a supportive brother, uncle and loyal friend.
His humor, quick wit and love of life enriched those that he touched. A brilliant, vibrant man, he will be dearly and sorely missed by his loving family.
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