Jerome Goodman Obituary

Dr. Jerome D. Goodman, psychiatrist and long-time resident of Saddle River, NJ died on May 27, 2024. He was 90 years old.
Jerry was born in Chester, PA into a family deeply tied to classical music. At age 6, he began his studies on cello at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, and was considered a prodigy. Jerry and his sister, a pianist, performed as a duet at venues throughout the Philadelphia area. At 16, Jerry was invited to Tanglewood to play first cellist in the Youth Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein and Serge Koussevitzky. Over three subsequent summers, Jerry performed as first cellist under Pierre Monteux at his School for Conductors in Hancock, ME.
Graduating Swarthmore High School in 1951, Jerry attended Swarthmore College where he decided to make his career in medicine. He graduated Swarthmore in 1955, then from The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1959. He pursued his interest in Adult Psychiatry as a resident at U.Penn in Philadelphia, and in Child Psychiatry at Columbia University. While at Columbia as an Assistant Professor, he authored several papers and co-authored "The Child Mental Status Examination", published in 1967. This Goodman-Sours text became a classic in medical school curricula for decades. Dr. Goodman was elected to the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry in 1967.
Dr. Goodman served from 1966-1968 in the US Army as a Captain and Medical Director stationed at Fort Monmouth. After his honorable discharge, Dr. Goodman rejoined his family in Saddle River, NJ, and became Attending Psychiatrist at Valley Hospital in addition to his private practice.
In 1971, Dr. Goodman joined the staff of Bergen Pines Hospital, becoming Director of Pediatric Psychiatry. He established the in-patient Child's Pediatric unit at Bergen Pines, developing innovative treatments for autistic children. Dr. Goodman treated thousands of adolescent and adult patients in private practice over 50 years. He also served as an expert for local school districts and law enforcement throughout New Jersey, where his insightful and literary reports were highly regarded.
In 1976, Jerome David Goodman returned to active participation in music, this time as composer. Building on his performance and composition experience at Swarthmore College, he devoted the next 30 years to composing works for piano, violin and symphony orchestra. Some of his works were performed and recorded by the Seattle Symphony, as well as orchestras in Europe.
Dr. Goodman is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dr. Gail Theis Goodman, son David Goodman, and three grandchildren, Jacqueline, Bradley and Alexander. Another son, Douglas Goodman, predeceased him.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.
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