Myrtle Beatrice Goodwin
Visitation:
Thursday
June 5, 2025
10AM - 1130AM
John Krtil Funeral Home
1297 1st Ave
New York, NY 10021
Burial:
1PM
Woodlawn Cemetery
Bronx, NY
Obituary for Myrtle Beatrice Goodwin
Myrtle Beatrice Goodwin, RN, PhD (Bea), aged 92, of New York City, passed away peacefully on May 21 in New York City. She was born on December 15, 1932, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Goodwin earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University and went on to complete her Master’s and PhD at New York University. With a profound dedication to nursing education, she became a professor and later served as Dean of Nursing at CUNY Lehman College, where she inspired generations of nursing students and helped shape the future of the profession.
Her career included work with the National League for Nursing, where she served as a member of the Board of Review for Baccalaureate and Graduate Education, through which she influenced national standards for nursing education.
In 1973, as a consultant for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), she helped establish and develop the first nursing and midwifery education program at the Catholic University in Chile, South America.
After her retirement in 1998, she was invited to return to NYU’s College of Nursing as a professor ad honorem, where she had the opportunity to lead a Latin American project supporting the development of nursing research and education in nearly eight countries across Central and South America—a mission she continued until 2019.
Dr. Goodwin also distinguished herself through military service, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Nurse Corps and the Air National Guard, where she served from 1960 to 1982. As a flight nurse and Chief Nurse of the Air Evacuation Unit, she participated in critical missions during the Vietnam War, including medical evacuations for wounded American soldiers in remote and high-risk environments. Her work exemplified her lifelong commitment to care, both in practice and education.
She was one of the founders and first editors of IMAGE,
known today as The Journal of Nursing Scholarship.
Dr. Goodwin believed deeply in nursing as a human science. Compassion, respect for human beings, justice, freedom, and service were central to her life. She loved birds and was a devoted reader and quiet writer. In her Letter to Dear Friends
on September 11, 2001, she wrote:
“…To see the smoke still rising from the hole in a skyline we all loved evokes a stillness in your soul… a stillness of profound sadness; a dam of tears held back by fierce resolve; a grief not only for the moment but for humankind and its loss of innocence, an aching desire to comfort the children who have lost parents, the parents who have lost sons and daughters, the spouses who have lost mates. It is difficult to awaken from the stillness, to what now seems trivial—yet, perhaps, important; useless—yet, perhaps, worthwhile.”
She closed:
“…Finally, we can take comfort in the realization that the tremendous good of the many has once again outweighed the tremendous evil of a few. The scale is tipped toward good. Peace and love. — Bea”
Global health became her passion. A new vision of care and humanity inspired her spirit. From 2006 to 2018, she was a member and Chair of the NGO Health Committee, which holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and is associated with the Department of Public Information of the UN. She influenced and created deeper programs addressing the imperative for students and practicing health professionals to become aware of the health needs of developing and least-developed countries and the interconnectedness of all nations.
Dr. Goodwin will live on in the memories of friends, colleagues, former students, fellow nurses and family members, along with many dear ones who remember her as a compassionate leader, a human advocate, and a visionary in the field of nursing.
A funeral service will be held on June 5 from 10:00–11:30 AM at John Krtil Funeral Home, 1297 First Avenue (at 70th Street), New York, NY.
Burial will follow at 1:00 PM at Woodlawn Cemetery, 4199 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY — Prospect Lot 20144, Section 57.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dr. Goodwin’s honor to the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, in support of nursing education fellowships.
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Viewing Thursday December 18th, 2025 9:00 A.M. to 9:30 A.M. Funeral Mass Church of St. Monica 413 East 79th Street New York, NY 10075 Thursday December 18th, 2025 10:00 A.M. Private Cremation In Lieu of Flowers Donate to St. Jude https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html
Donna M. Hamilton, a beloved mother, was born on December 27, 1943 in Kansas City, MO and peacefully passed away in the early evening of October 31, 2025. Donna’s faith guided her outlook to motherhood and to life. Donna grew up throughout the state of Texas. After graduating high school, her family moved to Washington, D. C. She eventually met and later married Vernon Hamilton (1930-2014); they had three children. Donna enjoyed participating in her church's events, embroidery, watching Hallmark movies, and most of all being with her family and friends. She had a beautiful smile and a kind, friendly personality that was noticed by everyone. Donna retired from New York Presbyterian Hospital after working as a Physician’s Assistant for over 35 years. She worked in the ambulatory surgery and plastic surgery departments, but her passion was in plastic surgery. Donna was phenomenal and highly respected in her field and often would be called upon to help the student physicians. Donna is survived by her three children: Scott, Melody, and Todd, an older brother, John Scott, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her grandson, Hamilton, who lived nearby, was often at her apartment visiting, going to the store for her when it became too difficult, or trying to keep her spirit up. Donna was loving, kind, charming, and unforgettable. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her and she will continue to inspire us all. Two quotes that our mother always told us (and the grandchildren and great-grandchildren): “treat others the way you wanted to be treated” and “do not compare yourself to others because for always there will be greater and lesser persons than you.”
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