Earl S. Godown, 93, of Vero Beach, passed away on March 20, 2016, at his home. It was his 93rd birthday.
He is survived by his daughter Lois E. Wieloch of Union Hall, Va.; sons Robert L. Godown of Milford, N.J., Dennis E. Godown of Easton, Penn., Michael W. Godown of Silver Spring, Md., and Jonathan S. Godown of Chester, N.J.; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; sister Nancy Vegh of Upper Black Eddy, Penn., and a half-sister Dorothy Hollo of Cambridge, N.Y.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Ruth Evelyn Stickel in 1999.
Godown was born in Milford, N.J., the son of the late Noah Pursell Godown and Emma L. Melick Godown. A WWII veteran, he served with the US Navy aboard the minesweeper USS Strive and went to the Western Mediterranean in April 1943. Over the next year and a half, his ship participated in the invasions of Sicily, Salerno, Anzio and Southern France and provided escort and minesweeping services elsewhere in the area and in the Pacific until the war ended.
He worked for the Riegel Paper Corporation after being honorably discharged from the service and until his retirement in 1985. He was a long time Borough of Milford councilman and oversaw the completion of the town’s first sewer system in 1968. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and a founding member of the Milford Farmer Sportsman Club. He moved to Vero Beach in 2003.
Private services will be arranged at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the VNA Hospice Foundation, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960. Online condolences may be made at www.coxgiffordseawinds.com.
