May 2, 2020, Tuckahoe, New York
Major: Biology
Williams relatives
- Mr. Jim Goff ’80 (Sibling)
Obituary & related links
Date reported: May 11, 2020
May 2, 2020, Tuckahoe, New York
Major: Biology
Williams relatives
Obituary & related links
Date reported: May 11, 2020
Thank you to all for these kind words about my beloved brother Michael. He was a hero figure to me in so many ways and please know that Mike’s spirit lives on within me and I am doing my best to honor his life in everything I do.
Have a great summer. Mike wants that for all of us….LIVE!
Jim
Michael G. Goff (from Yonkers, NY) was a Morgan Hall roommate my “first” freshman year. An expert diver, Mike co-captained the Williams Swimming & Diving team. After graduating cum laude as a biology major and a member of Phi Beta Kappa in the class of 1974, Michael then authored a brilliant medical career as one of Boston’s most distinguished cardiologists. He was truly a special person. Yet, despite all of these accomplishments, most of us will simply remember Mike for the compassionate human being he always was.
Michael died more than a year ago (on 05/02/2020) of complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic. His death has really been a “gut punch” for me. I think of the man every day.
For me, Williams College will always be a special place because of the opportunity it gave me to befriend human beings like Mike Goff.
Douglas C Miller MD PhD wrote:
Dear Rich, Thank you for letting us know. Indeed a tragedy and a reminder that we in medicine are not only not invulnerable, we actually are at greater risk.
Ed Larson wrote:
So sad. Such a nice guy — and smart.
Jann Williams added:
Thank you for sending the tragic news. Mike was part of Fort Hoosac and I remember him. I am so sorry to learn of his passing. He was so bright and way too young. This is a very sober reminder of the times we are enduring right now.
Brian Lockwood wrote:
I knew Mike a little bit. Kurt Hofstra was my roommate one year and a good friend, and Kurt was on the swim team, so i hung around the pool a little more than i might have at meets or practice or intramurals. i enjoyed watching mike dive. i met his family one year. i did not know he became a cardiologist. how do we get taken so young and vibrant and contributing to the betterment of the world? you say it well. i give thanks for the gift of life and the sacred gift of memory. as created beings we must acknowledge the overarching plan of our creator, who has put structure and complexity into all things, often beyond our ken, and trust. be well, mike. god bless you.
Ken Kessel added:
Thanks, Rich. You have both the compassionate and unenviable position of being the conduit for reminders of our mortality, the passage of time, and the persistence of memory. I only knew Mike through our shared time on the swim team. Mike also had the unenviable position of having to practice diving in Thompson’s Robert B. Muir Pool, often during swim practice, although sometimes outside of those hours. Not only did he have to accommodate his schedule differently from the rest of us, but he also had to thread the needle, in-between robust hordes of swimming Ephs, in order just to do one dive. Over and over and over, season after season, and never in anything else but good humor. Maybe good training for a cardiologist.
Rich Levy announced:
As if there wasn’t enough disruption in our lives, I regret to report that Covid-19 has finally hit home. Our classmate Michael Goff – student, athlete (captain of the swimming A& diving team), and cardiologist – died on May 2 from complications of the virus. His obituary is linked here, be and his listing in the 1974 Gulielmensian is linked here.
Please join me in remembering Mike. Once again, albeit far too soon, please give thanks for the gift of life and the sacred gift of memory.