Obituaries

Lee Goodridge

Former Riverhead resident Lee Goodridge (known as Prof. Lee) died July 25 in San Antonio, Texas. He was 68 years old.

He was born Oct. 7, 1944, in Port Jefferson to Gracie (Brown) and Walter Leslie Goodridge Sr. and grew up in Riverhead. A “superb athlete,” according to family members, he participated in Riverhead High School cross country and track and was on the team known as the Mighty Mites, which went undefeated for 78 meets.

Mr. Goodridge enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1968 and was stationed at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, where he began his martial arts training. There he also met Erlinda Superio Canonigo, and they were they married on May 3, 1969, at Holy Rosary Parish Church. He lived in the Philippines until 1979, when a change of duty assignment sent him to San Antonio, Texas. He served at Wilford Hall Medical Center there until retiring from the Air Force in 1991 as a master sergeant. He married his second wife, Dr. Céline A. Jacquemin, on May 23, 2008, at True Vine Baptist Church in San Antonio.

Mr. Goodridge, who achieved the status of “kyoshi,” helped found Kojukan Jujitsu School for Self Defense, in San Antonio, where he taught traditional Japanese Jujitsu. He was inducted into the World Family Sokeship Council Hall of Fame as a millennium master instructor in September 2000, and he earned his eighth degree black belt in August 2006. Two years later, Mr. Goodridge was awarded the Golden Life Achievement Award by the World Head of Family Sokeship Council. He also taught martial arts self-defense at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio until he was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in May 2013.

Family members said he was also a spiritual man, singing on the praise team at True Vine Baptist Church.

He his survived by his second wife; his children, Joseph Michael, Lorraine Michelle, and Teresa Smith; his brother, Ron; five grandchildren; and many other family members. He was predeceased by his parents and his first wife.

The family received visitors Aug. 4 at Sunset Northwest Funeral Home in San Antonio. A family remembrance and reflection took place Aug. 5 at True Vine Baptist Church, followed by a service. Interment was at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, also in San Antonio.

Memorial donations may be made to the Lee Goodridge Memorial Education Fund c/o Dr. Céline A. Jacquemin, 435 South Ellison Dr., San Antonio, TX 78245-1178, which helps Our Lady of Nazareth School in Nairobi, Kenya, and provides a yearly scholarship for a member of True Vine Baptist Church attending St. Mary’s University.