Time is an ocean, but it ends at the shore. You may not see me tomorrow.
Bob Dylan
Obituary
John Goodacre, a beloved husband and father, passed away in his sleep on July 20, 2024 at the age of 74 after a long battle with cancer.
Born on March 8, 1950, John grew up in London and Reading. He excelled academically, graduating from Reading School in 1969 and Downing College at Cambridge University in 1972 with a Master of Arts in Local Law.
John’s first son, Christopher, was born to Wendy in 1977. In 1984, John married Gillian, his wife of forty years. His second son, Alex, was born to Gillian later that year. His third son, Simon, was born in 1986.
John had a distinguished career in law. He was a partner at Malkins, a law firm in Covent Garden, London. He moved to Quintiles in 1998 to serve as Head of European Legal Affairs. Two years later, he relocated to North Carolina with his family to serve as Senior Vice President of Risk Management and Quality Assurance at Quintiles’ headquarters in Durham. In 2007, he assumed the position of Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Quintiles. He retired in 2015 after decades of building a strong network of friends and acquaintances across four continents. In retirement, he served on the board of directors for Cytecare Hospitals in Bangalore, India.
John held deep passions for food and wine, horse racing, golf, traveling and classic rock music. He is survived by his wife, Gillian, his sons, Christopher and Simon, his grandsons, Alex and Sammy, and his siblings, Paul and Ruth.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that mourners consider making a donation to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Treatment Center, where John was a patient for 14 years. Their mission to provide compassionate care to patients and their families while conducting pathbreaking research into new treatments and therapies was very important to him. Details below.
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Memory wall
John was crazy about his family, and he was interested in other people's families. As several people have noted, he was fun and funny, too. We were all fortunate to have him as a friend, and we will miss him.
My condolences to Gillian and the rest of his family.
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John was a patient of UNC Lineberger for fourteen years. He was a passionate supporter and advocate for their mission to provide compassionate and supportive healthcare to patients and their families while conducting pathbreaking research into new treatments and therapies.
We invite you to honor his memory with a gift to support UNC Lineberger’s critical work: http://www.unchf.org/johngoodacre.