With great sadness, we report the passing of longtime active PHSNE member Allan Goodrich. After joining PHSNE in 1995, he was a board member for many years, serving as secretary from 2007 to 2015 and was named an honorary life member in 2017.
Photo by Dick Koolish
Goodrich joined the JFK Library in 1970 and held numerous positions before becoming Chief Archivist in 2003. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 from the Archivist of the United States for more than forty years of distinguished service.
Goodrich was the speaker at PHSNE’s January 2001 meeting; the topic was Unknown Collections in the JFK Library’s Photo Archives. In spring of the same year, he led a behind-the-scenes tour of the JFK Library for a PHSNE field trip, sharing memorabilia that the general public does not get to see.
In 2011, Goodrich and PHSNE member Lew Regelman were examining a box of 8×10 glass plate negatives that found its way to the warehouse. Several were wedding photos, and Goodrich recognized one bride, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the photo taken nearly a century ago. The JFK Library was delighted to add this historic image to its collection.
Goodrich described the events in detail in an article in the 40th Anniversary 2013 Journal (https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1774993). Credit for the photo went to Boston photographer Louis Fabian Bachrach. Many years later, in 1960, his son, Fabian Bachrach, took what was to become the official White House portrait of President JFK.
John Dockery, Photographica Show Manager, remembers Allan, who ran the entrance booth at the show for decades, as a quiet professional.
“Nothing ever rattled Allan. He was careful, engaged, serious, and unshakeable but he was still able to maintain his extra dry sense of humor at all times. He will be greatly missed, fondly remembered, and hopefully never forgotten by all current PHSNE members. Allan set a baseline for all who follow him to aspire to, as the organization that he so enjoyed moves into the future.”
An online obituary can be found at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/allan-goodrich-obituary?id=60764345&fhid=7356.
What the heck…
Are Those Even Cameras?!
Join the PHSNE Newsletter and learn more about photographic history and preservation. Already an expert? Come and share your collections and knowledge as we celebrate the history and advancement of photography.
