Obituary: Charlotte Tsoi Goodluck, former sociology and social work professor

Charlotte Tsoi Goodluck

Charlotte T. Goodluck, professor emerita of sociology and social work, died on Dec. 3, 2014. She was 68.

Dr. Goodluck was born in Ft. Defiance, Ariz., on Oct. 14, 1946. She earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Prescott College, a master’s in social work from Smith College and a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Denver.

Dr. Goodluck began her career as a social worker at Jewish Family Services in Phoenix, Arizona in 1973 and was the project director of a program that placed native children with native families before the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act. She was a social work educator from 1987 to 2014. She began her academic career at Northern Arizona University where she served as a professor of sociology and social work. She retired in 2008.

Dr. Goodluck’s gentleness, sense of humor and steadiness in the face of challenges were especially admired and appreciated. Her greatest legacy will remain in the thousands of students she taught during her lifetime.

Dr. Goodluck is preceded in death by her parents Charles Tsoi Goodluck and Leslie Elizabeth Snow Goodluck. She is survived by her sister, Lesley N. Goodluck; niece Natalie P. Locust; and numerous cousins and relatives on the Navajo Reservation.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, at the Beacon Unitarian Universalist Church, 510 North Leroux Street. A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, in Lupton, AZ at the Goodluck Residence one mile north of I-40 on Route 12 followed by a memorial reception and potluck at Tse Si Ani Lupton Chapter.

A celebration of life will be held in Portland, Oregon at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1034 SW 13th Avenue, Portland, OR on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, academic scholarships will be established in Dr. Goodluck’s memory. Please contact Laura Nissen at nissen@pdx.edu for additional information.