Daniel W. Goodenough Jr.

Daniel Webster Goodenough died March 3, 2026, in Two Harbors at age 87. Dan was born in Detroit, Michigan on Jan. 22, 1939, to Daniel and Margaret Goodenough. He grew up with two younger sisters with whom he shared a lifelong closeness. He loved summers at the Teton Valley Ranch in Wyoming. Over several years Dan received a BA from Princeton University, a M. Div. from Bryn Athyn College Theological School, and a STM (Master of Sacred Theology) from Lutheran Theological Seminary.

From age 16, Dan studied the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century scientist, Christian theologian, and spiritual explorer. He wrote many articles and papers and published one book, “Divine Providence and Free Will in Human Actions” (1986). He dedicated his professional and personal life to Swedenborg’s teachings and the church founded on them. He believed that Swedenborg’s writings heralded a new way of understanding how Jesus Christ is one God, and that true religion is lived.

While in school in Bryn Athyn, PA, Dan met Ruth Parker from Toronto, Ontario. They married in 1963. After ordination into the General Church ministry in 1965, Dan served for two years as assistant pastor in Toronto. His passion for education then brought him back to Bryn Athyn where he joined the faculty as a history and religion teacher in the secondary, college, and theological schools of the Academy of the New Church, also providing counseling to students.

He and Ruth raised five children in a home open to visitors, friends, boarders, and others. He loved to play guitar and sing folk traditionals and cowboy songs around the fireplace and at bedtime. He sailed every summer on Lake Huron and backpacked with the college outing club. He cheered spiritedly at his childrens’ sporting and theatrical events. Between 1973 and 1991, he led month-long backpacking trips in the Rocky mountains with college students and his own children. Many backpackers became colleagues and friends; a few were close friends to the end of his life.

In 1989, on a wilderness backpacking trip, Dan and Ruth’s 18 year-old son Danny died in a climbing accident. Dan’s belief that “children are the heritage of the Lord” comforted him and many others while the family and community mourned. A few years later, the backpackers erected a memorial to Danny in Wyoming, which Dan returned to many times.

For 10 years ending in 2002, Dan served as President of the Academy, championing the spiritual teachings brought to life both in and out of the classroom. In the preface to his book he had written, “Failure to seek rational religious answers to the basic philosophical questions of life relegates the individual and his society to a wasteland without lasting purpose or even credible solace.” As an administrator dedicated to seeking (and following) guidance from God’s Word, he was a leader in addressing the spiritual harm of abuse. He believed that “the truth will set you free” even when this is difficult and requires facing the painful reality of evil and harm.

Dan retired in 2002. He and Ruth moved to Big Horn, Wyoming, where they hosted dozens of travelling friends. Dan served on the Big Horn Reservoir Water Rights Board, joined the Lions’ Club, taught comparative religions at the Crow Rez College, square danced with Ruth, and rode horseback in the foothills of the Bighorn mountains.

In 2014, Dan and Ruth moved to Two Harbors, Minnesota, to be closer to family. If Dan couldn’t be in the mountains, the next best thing was sailing on Lake Superior. Dan was always energized by a “rousting” sail. He replaced the cowboy boots and Stetson with a wide array of ball caps which he wore to soccer games and cross country meets, and wool caps for ski meets and the Beargrease sled dog marathon.

In recent years, Dan’s backpacking buddies gathered with him in Wyoming to complete exploration started in the 1970’s. Their mission was to definitively document the miraculous and brilliant 1877 escape of the Nez Perce tribe from the U.S. cavalry through seemingly impossible terrain. Distilling and explaining these findings dominated the last year of Dan’s life; the article he completed this winter will be published in a magazine of western history in the fall.

After Ruth passed in July, 2025, Dan’s life continued quietly at home, with only slightly diminished energy. Playing with the local gospel jam group was his most steadfast source of joy. He continued to study spiritual matters and, as able, remained connected to dear friends around the world as well as family. After experiencing a heart attack in the fall, he considered his own end to be near, but never stopped raking leaves or shoveling snow, believing that the Lord would allow him to go when his greatest usefulness was no longer on this earth. He died of heart failure while chopping wood – “with his boots on,” as he always wanted.

Dan is preceded in death by his wife Ruth, son Danny, and parents. He is survived by sisters Liz and Pixie and four daughters Mary Goodenough of Sebastopol, CA (d. Ravi Garimella), Vera Dyck of Guelph, ON (m. Steve), Katya Gordon of Two Harbors, MN (m. Mark), and Lamar Goodenough of Bryn Athyn, PA (s. Barrett Smith), grandchildren Maya and Raj Garimella, Nathan and Amber Dyck, Cedar and Lamar Gordon, and Wyatt and Calvin Smith.

A service and sing-along will be held at United Church of Two Harbors on Saturday, March 21, at 4:00 p.m., with a reception afterwards downstairs.

A memorial service will be held at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral (Bryn Athyn, PA) on Saturday, April 4 at 3:00 p.m., following an interment for both he and Ruth at the Bryn Athyn cemetery. The service will be followed by a reception at the Asplundh Assembly Hall.

In lieu of flowers, we ask you to consider a donation to one of the following causes:

• Meals on Wheels (givemn.org/AEOA with designation or AEOA, Attn: Senior and Nutritional Services, 702 3rd Ave. South, Virginia, MN 55792, “Meals on Wheels” memo),
• General Church Outreach (newchurch.org/donate, DWG in designation window)
• Humanitarian aid to Ukrainians (checks to New Horizons, “Ukraine” in memo, mailed to Dave Nonnemacher, 517 3rd Ave, Two Harbors, MN 55616.