Born on July 4, 1946 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Aaron was raised in the small community of Climax, Michigan. A graduate of Climax-Scotts High School, Aaron furthered his education by earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, a Master of Business Administration in Aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management from Indiana State University in Terra Haute, Indiana.
Aaron was a strong man, faithful, compassionate, sincere, and confident. He proved to be a humble and respected leader and retired from an honored and distinguished executive position with the United States Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan, after 30 years of service.
After retiring from TACOM, Aaron and his family moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where Aaron worked as Dean of the School of Applied Studies for three years, and later retired after ten years as the Dean of the School of Business at Bob Jones University.
Aaron was thoughtful, full of integrity, and possessed a servant’s heart. There was joy in his heart for Jesus whom he accepted as Lord and Savior as a child during Vacation Bible School. Aaron had an unconditional love for his family. He is survived by his loving wife Wilma (Long) of nearly 51 years, a son, Philip Goldsmith of Detroit, MI, and two daughters, Kristin Metras (Steven) and Karen Bell (Matthew) of Greenville, SC. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Zachary, Trenton, Ashlynn, Owen, Olivia, Cole, and Luke.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 AM on Friday, June 19, 2020 at Faith Baptist Church, 500 West Lee Road, Taylors, SC 29687, with internment to follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park, 1 Pine Knoll Drive, Greenville, SC, 29609. For those unable to attend the funeral service, it will be available via Facebook livestream as a public event on Wilma Goldsmith’s Facebook page.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to either of these two wonderful organizations:
Hidden Treasure Christian School
500 West Lee Road
Taylors, SC 29687
Randy Merrill Evangelistic Team
c/o Faith Independent Baptist Church
593 County Road 17
Enterprise, AL 36330
