John Hedges Goff, Jr.

John Hedges Goff, Jr. died peacefully on August 13, 2024, after succumbing to leukemia. John was at home when he died, with his children surrounding him, and lifted by the love of so many in the Birmingham area.

John was born in Montgomery, Alabama to John Hedges Goff and Catherine Emery Nash Goff. The family settled in Auburn, where John Sr. taught Economics at Auburn University before moving to Washington D.C. and Portland when he served as a consultant with the government during World War II. After the war they moved to Atlanta, where John attended Druid Hills High School and participated in band and track, lettering in both while serving as editor of the school paper.

John graduated from Emory University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity, with a degree in business. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, John attended Officer Candidate School with the U.S. Navy, and later Supply School in Athens, eventually serving with honor as Lieutenant Junior Grade aboard the USS Forestall in the Mediterranean. His time aboard the Forestall influenced him tremendously and informed a lifelong love of travel and of the sea.

While in Supply School with Easy Company in Athens, Ga. John attended dances at the University of Georgia, where he met the love of his life, Beverly Walton McDonald of Waycross, Ga. John famously saw the tall and slender Beverly dancing with a man he judged unworthy of her, and proceeded to cut in, saying a lady shouldn’t dance with a man shorter than she. John and Beverly married in Waycross in 1957, he earned an MBA at Emory, and they moved to Birmingham. John spent his career with the First National Bank of Birmingham/AmSouth, retiring as an executive in the Trust Department after decades of service.

John and Beverly were active members of the community, faithfully attending South Highland Presbyterian Church, where John served on the Church Foundation Board. They were members of Mountain Brook Country Club and a number of social clubs, but following retirement, John realized his dream of traveling the world. From safaris in Africa to Russia, China, Australia, Europe, and beyond, John and Beverly truly traveled the world. They enjoyed family travel as well, taking grandchildren on cruises, and to the beach and mountains. No getaway was too small, and no adventure too large.

John is survived by his sister, Catherine “Kitty” Goff Beckham, his children, Georgia Goff Duke and John Chandler Goff (Courtney), and his beloved grandchildren, John Campbell Goff, Addison Parker Goff, Hannah Walton Duke, and Oliver Miller Goff.

A memorial service honoring John’s life will be held at South Highland Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, August 21 at 3:00 p.m. Memorials may be made in John’s name to the South Highland Presbyterian Church Foundation.

Services are under the direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel (205-879-3401) in Homewood.