Betty Kathryn Goodwin

Betty Goodwin, longtime Rancho Palos Verdes resident, died on September 26, 2017; she was 89. Born in Irvine, Kentucky, to Thomas Cox and Kathyrn Sternberg Cox, she was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and was the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a Bachelor of Music from the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music. An operatic soprano, she also studied at Juilliard School of Music and performed leading roles in a variety of operas and was a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of George Szell. Betty married Joseph F. Goodwin in 1951, and the couple moved immediately to southern California. Betty was a well-loved teacher, who taught music at Pasadena City College in the 1950s, and elementary school in both the Newport-Mesa and Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School Districts for more than 20 years. She is fondly remembered by her former students, who consistently described her as “tough but fair.” Betty was particularly touched by several former students who sought her out to tell her of her life-changing positive influence on them. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Joseph, and her sister Polly Rossborough, and she is survived by her daughters Karenjo Goodwin and Kathy Kerstein, her sons-in-law Michael Crump and Bob Kerstein, and her grandchildren Weston Crump and Elizabeth Kerstein, as well as her brother-in-law, nieces, and their families in Ohio. The family would like to thank Morena Medina and Olga Ccocollondo, who were ably led, guided, and inspired by Nancy Candage for their loving care of Betty during these last years.