Robert Allen Goff, Sr.

Robert was born in Columbia, South Carolina to Homer Buford Goff Sr. and Martha Holt Allen Goff on March 19, 1943. Robert graduated from Eau Claire High School in 1961, where he was a member of both the glee club and cheerleader squad. He graduated from Clemson University in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Robert began his engineering career in 1965 at South Carolina Electric and Gas in the nuclear power plant division. In 1970, Robert joined the Poole & Kent Corporation as a project manager on projects at U.S. Army Fort Jackson in Columbia. In 1976, Robert was hired by E. H. Moses, III as chief operations officer of SIFCO Mechanical, Inc. in Sumter, SC and purchased the company in 1983.

Robert was a respected and trusted mechanical engineer and developed many lifelong friendships within the construction industry throughout his long career. He was president of South Carolina chapters of The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and Mechanical Contractors Association of South Carolina.

Robert was proud to have worked on some of the largest and most famous buildings in South Carolina. Some of those buildings included the AT&T Capital Center, the Ira & Nancy Koger Center for the Arts, the Colonial Life Insurance Corporate Headquarters and the Sonoco Corporate Headquarters.

In 1986, through ASHRAE, obtained granting to design and furnish the air conditioning system of a DC-10 aircraft, which served as a surgery room for Orbis International, a non-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to saving sight worldwide.

Robert was predeceased by his parents; brother, Charles Wesley Goff (Kay); sister, Jane Goff Berry (Jimmie) and H. Buford Goff, Jr.; and son, George Wesley Goff II.

He is survived by his wife, Celeste Parker Goff; son, R. Allen Goff, Jr. (Martha); daughter, Paige Goff Ratliff (Michael); grandsons, Samuel Buford Goff, Rutledge Aaron Goff and William Luke Goff, Michael Ratliff; sister-in-law, Barbara Lea Dent Goff; nephews, David Goff, Charles Eskildsen; nieces, Martha Berry (Greg Michels), Dianne Goff, Angelia Baker, Katherine Goff Lockwood (Barry), Charli Montgomery, and Jessica Rizzo (Matt) and numerous grand nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8 at Seven Oaks Presbyterian Church, 530 St. Andrews Road, Columbia, SC. The family will receive friends immediately following service at the home of Allen and Martha Goff.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Thornwell Home for Children, 302 S. Broad Street, Clinton, South Carolina 29325 or Seven Oaks Presbyterian Church.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.elmwoodfhcolumbia.com for the Goff family.