Sol Goodman, auto executive

Sol Goodman, a retired auto leasing and sales executive who wrote poetry that spoke of the joys of living in Baltimore, died of kidney failure Feb. 18 at Sunrise Senior Living in Pikesville. The longtime Mount Vernon resident was 88.

Born in Baltimore and raised on Brookfield Avenue in Reservoir Hill, he was a 1941 City College graduate. During World War II, he was an Army medic serving in France, where he helped treat soldiers suffering from what now is called post-traumatic stress disorder. He also served in Japan during its occupation and assisted in hypnosis treatment.

After the war, he studied at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was a member of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity.

Mr. Goodman met his future wife, Debby Waxman, on a blind date in 1949. An interior designer, she became the chairwoman of the city's Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation. The couple lived for many years in a downtown apartment.

As a young man, Mr. Goodman owned and managed the Ideal Theatre on 36th Street in Hampden. He later worked in sales and auto leasing at All State Leasing.

"His true passion was the arts, both as an appreciator and participant," said a daughter, Marjorie Goodman of Baltimore. "He was a patron of the Baltimore Opera, Baltimore Symphony, Baltimore School for the Arts, Enoch Pratt Free Library and American Visionary Art Museum. He loved the theater and performing arts. Listening to Broadway show music brought him comfort in his final days."

Mr. Goodman was an award winner in the Baltimore's Best poetry contest. He also wrote an annual holiday poem.

His daughter described him as a "spiritual man." For 44 years, he collaborated and wrote the material for Baltimore Hebrew Congregation's Yom Kippur meditation service.

He wrote a pair of one-man shows about composers Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. Both were performed at the Gordon Center by local actor and friend Stanley Weiman.

He enjoyed volunteering at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Pratt's central library. He wrote a guide to the history and architecture of the library building.

Services were held Monday.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include another daughter, Jane Zweig of Columbia; a son, John Goodman of San Francisco; and five grandchildren. His wife of 44 years died in 1994.

jacques.kelly@baltsun.com