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Longtime Colleague Johnny Goode Dies at 52

2 min read

Johnny Goode, who retired last year after 20 years as an advertising account executive for Arkansas Business, died Thursday morning of the cancer that was first diagnosed five years ago.

He was 52.

“Johnny was loved by all his colleagues and clients at Arkansas Business, so we’re incredibly sad today,” said Jeff Hankins, the president and publisher of Arkansas Business, who worked with Goode for 18 years.

“He was one of the friendliest guys I’ve ever met, and if he was having a bad day, you would never know it. Johnny’s courage and willingness to fight through his health challenges these past few years inspired all of us.

“He was a champion who overcame some improbable odds, and it was only fitting that he got to enjoy watching his beloved St. Louis Cardinals win another World Series.”

Goode, whose last name rhymed with food, joined the Arkansas Business sales staff in May 1991, when the publication was only seven years old. Only two other employees had celebrated 20 years with the company when Goode retired in May 2011, his energy finally sapped by his illness.

Goode was a Little Rock native, the son of WilloDean Scroggs Goode and the late John Goode Sr., who died in 2010. He is survived by two sisters, Beth Goode and Nancy Goode, and was preceded in death by his brother, David, who died at age 49 in 2008.

Johnny Goode was in the restaurant business for several years before finding his professional home and a second family at Arkansas Business. The polar opposite of a fast-talking salesman, Goode was a trusted adviser to his advertising clients and a man for whom work was just one part of his life. 

He loved baseball and golf. He wrote about the dream trip he took to Augusta National in January 2011 for ArkansasSports360.com. He also wrote about having his Cammack Village home crushed by an ancient oak tree in 2008 for the “A Day in Little Rock” feature in Little Rock Soirée magazine.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2223 Durwood, Little Rock. A reception will follow in the atrium of the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Make a Wish Foundation or St. Paul United Methodist Church.

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