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Article: 'Everything he touched turned to community': whether founding schools or fixing toilets, Nelson Good embodied community and faithful living.(Obituary)
- Article from:
- Sojourners Magazine
- Article date:
- December 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Sojourners. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The headline of his Washington Post obituary on July 17, 2005, read: "Nelson Good, Sociologist." Which was accurate, in a narrow, misleading sort of way. But the headline writer deserves our sympathy. Even Nelson Good's children complained that they never knew what to say when their friends asked, "What does your dad do?"
What did he do? In 61 years of life, this lean, slow-talking, earnest man with a sly and boyish sense of humor never put together a resume. He created his own jobs, usually part-time, often working with longtime friends for meager pay.
I thought of him as a builder, but not with hammers and nails. His tools were meetings over ...