Skip to content

Obituary: John Joseph Goda, Jr.



By Michelle E. Shaw

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

John Goda didn’t grow up around horses and horse shows, but most who saw him at Friday Farm in Alpharetta, Ga., would have never known.

A computer scientist who taught at Georgia Tech for more than 30 years, Goda fell in love with horses not long after he met the woman who would become his wife.

“He was introduced to horses when he met me because I was training horses up in New England,” said his wife, Barbara Kelly Goda. “We were both at the University of Massachusetts, and he would come help me when I showed horses up there, where I had a small training barn.”

After the couple married and moved to Atlanta, they worked non-horse related jobs and their family of two grew to include a son. But in the mid-‘70s they got back into the horse business, and soon moved to Alpharetta where they bought enough acreage for a horse farm. They named their training facility Friday Farm, because that was the one day of the week they could spend with the horses.

“This was the interesting part…he really got involved with various horse shows and associations,” his wife said. “He wasn’t just helping out and working on the farm, but he was active in the community.”

When Goda realized there were very few, if any, places locally for would-be riders to break into the horse show circuit, he jumped into action. Three or four barns, with the Godas in a leadership role, put together the Olde Milton Horse Show Circuit at Wills Park in Alpharetta.

“He just thought there should be a place here for people who were just starting out, where people didn’t have to spend a lot of money and travel overnight,” his wife said.

But none of this was the plan when the couple moved to Georgia in the mid-’60s, she said. “We were coming for two years so he could go to school at Tech,” Barb Goda said. “We never left.”

John Joseph Goda Jr., of Alpharetta, died Oct. 10, 2013, of complications from lung cancer. He was 75.

Goda, who grew up in Springfield, Mass., graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He came to Atlanta to pursue a doctorate in computer science, but got a full-time teaching job before he finished his degree. He retired around 2002, his wife said, “because there were so many things he wanted to do.” Most of those things revolved around activities in the horse community.

“Working with the horses gave him an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends,” said John J. Goda III. “I think when he retired from Tech, he missed working with his students, but working with the horses helped fill that gap.”

The elder Goda seemed to thrive in the behind-the-scenes work, said Rick Adams. “I’ve worked with him at several horse shows, and he really enjoyed making sure things ran smoothly,” Adams said. “He would do whatever he could to lend a hand, but he never needed to be out front.”

In addition to his wife of 47 years and son, Goda is survived by two brothers, George Goda of Springfield, Mass., and Robert Goda of Santa Barbara, Calif.

More Stories

  • #FoalsNFocus – Week 11

    Some are just taking their first steps, others are shedding, but the quality of the 2023 foal crop has been spectacular week after week in all of our show breeds. Read More
  • High Spirits Riders Make Horses a Way of Life

    “The journeys for all five of these kids are basically the same. They’ve all become barn rats and it started with lessons and Academy,” said High Spirits Farm instructor Allison Cantrell, referring to the five junior exhibitor riders who just participated at the Madison Classic. “Four of these kids first showed with us and they are riding horses that were bred here. Read More
  • Beth Jones Passes Away

    Saddle Horse Report has learned the sad news of the passing of longtime owner and exhibitor Beth Jones of Bellefontaine, Ohio Monday, June 5th. Read More
  • ASHBA Announces Hunter Task Force

    The Hunter Country Pleasure division is one of the fastest-growing American Saddlebred divisions, with 645 classes across the nation in 2022. ASHBA recognizes the importance of this division and the versatility it offers our breed. Read More
  • Attention Hackney Youth

    The AHHS announced Hackney Youth Creative Arts and Writing Contest. This is your opportunity to showcase your creativity. Your goal is to share YOUR representation of the Hackney using any medium (material) of your choosing. Three lucky winners will be drawn from the entries to receive $500 each, along with select entries receiving featured spots in the youth newsletter. Read More
  • Latest Issue 6 5 23

    Read More
  • Hoof Beats and High Fashion

    The American Saddlebred Museum presents the annual July Fundraiser—Hoof Beats and High Fashion on Friday, July 14 at 11:00 a.m.  Read More
  • Freedman’s Gift Package Raffle

    The American Saddlebred Museum and Freedman's are offering a chance to win an amazing gift package and support the Museum at the same time! The prize package, valued at $550, is full of useful items any horseperson needs and features several exciting new products as well. Read More
  • Latest Issue 6 23 HW

    Read More
  • #FoalsNFocus – Week 10

    While horse shows are stacked one on top of another, the 2023 foal crop is also blossoming across the country. Submitted by owner/breeder Kristen Wells, this week’s winning photo is of her May 20th colt by Noble Braveheart out of Hannah Starlight, a daughter of reserve world’s champion Leatherwood’s Starlight. Read More