Dean Carlos (DC) Goddard
On May 8, 2025 at the age of 96, Dean Carlos (DC) Goddard left this world quietly. We hold close the hope that he was not afraid and was gently accompanied by the spirits of his cherished wife Linda, his brothers Stanley and David, his mother O’Rita and his daughter Bobbie.
A true Bajan – born and raised in White Park, St. Michael, Barbados – Dean’s love for the sea, for sailing, yacht racing and boat building (often using his mother’s curtains as sails) was woven into him from childhood. As a Co-Founder of the still-standing Barbados Cruising Club, his crest and trophies remain proudly displayed. It always had to be a sailboat, nothing with a motor, just pure skill on the open blue water.
He possessed a brilliant technical mind, a true genius in politics, geography, history and math. He was a walking encyclopedia. Though he left school young to support his mother and siblings, he never held resentment, only determination to take care of his family and this would carry throughout his life.
In Barbados, he began work in a lumber yard handling the cash box, later joining Cable & Wireless as a Maintenance Technician. There he met the love of his life, Linda Smith (Beckles Road), a Radio Telephone Operator. They married on December 30, 1961, and moved to Montserrat, where Dean was promoted to Manager of Cable & Wireless.
Their pink-bricked home in Montserrat is now covered in volcanic ash, but they were so happy there – found a good group of friends from England, attended lavish parties and even met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip (likely Linda was more thrilled with this than Dean).
Wanting the best opportunities for their young family, they left the warmth of the islands and immigrated to Montreal in the winter of 1966. Political unrest eventually pushed them onward, and they settled in a brown-bricked bungalow in the ‘A’ section of Bramalea, where they remained until Linda’s passing in 2015.
Dean loved his life on Alexandria Crescent. As a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Peel Amateur Radio Club, he was always tinkering with the towering antennas on the roof, climbing scaffolding with the ability of a young boy. He was a legend in the HAM community, with call cards from across the globe forming a vibrant tapestry in his basement. Monthly meetings, Sunday morning NET’s, repeater repairs, field days – he was in his glory. His call sign VE3FWD was eventually modernized to VA3IE. He attended night school at Sheridan College for computer programming and was overjoyed to purchase the very first Radio Shack computer.
The basement was his kingdom; he could fix anything and nothing was ever thrown away if it might one day serve a purpose or be reinvented.
Dean hated driving. Anywhere. Anytime. Ever.
He answered to many different roles in life – son, brother, husband, brother-in-law, dad, uncle, father-in-law – but his most treasured role was as a grandfather (aka Papa Dean or PaBean). Cherished and forever loved by his grandchildren, Devin, Lauren, Heather, Riley and Andrew. Between Nana and Papa Dean, their grandchildren won the grandparent lottery. For Bobbie and Jill as parents, there was no greater gift they could have given their kids than the relationship they each had with Nana and Papa Dean. Sometimes the best moments are the quiet ones with people you love.
Even though Papa Dean left us long before his heart stopped beating, a person’s legacy is one of the most meaningful things they leave behind. Remember the man he truly was – before Alzheimer’s, before the fading. Continue to honour the life he lived, the love he gave and the impact he had on everybody he met through stories, laughter and tears.
Devin, Lauren, Heather, Riley and Andrew, Papa Dean loved each of you so completely that even death can’t diminish and that’s a gift few are given. You should carry it with gratitude all your lives. Because in the end, what greater comfort could there be than knowing someone left this world with your name on their heart. You are not alone, you are what remains. Legacy.