Funeral service for COL USA (Retired) Lewis  ("Lew") J. Goldberg (a former Huntsville resident) will be Monday, October 28, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home & Crematory (1500 W. Braddock Road - Alexandria, VA 22302.  Interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery (Ft. Myer, VA  TBA 4-6 months).

Interment ceremony for COL. USA (Retired) Lewis J. Goldberg:

DATE: March 24, 2025 (Monday)
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Fort Myer, VA 22211

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The family kindly asks that if you choose to make a donation, please send it to the Wounded Warrior Project, in Lew's honor. Your support will help veterans and their families. To donate, please visit: www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

OBITUARY

Lewis Jay Goldberg of Alexandia, VA passed away at INOVA Fairfax Hospital surrounded by family on October 11, 2024, at the age of 77 from stage IV pancreatic cancer, which spread to his lungs, liver, and spine.

Lew was born on May 3, 1947, in Brooklyn, NY to Solomon and Lilyan Goldberg, distinguished members of the Jewish community. He had one sibling, an older sister, Marilyn Belle. All three predeceased him in life -- 1998, 2017, and 2016, respectively. He lived in Brooklyn until he graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1964. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), primarily to live with and be a companion to his grandfather, David Sendrow. During his tenure at UCLA, Lew enrolled in the Army ROTC Program. He graduated from UCLA in 1968 and on June 14th of that year, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. Lew entered the Army at Fort Ord, in Monterey, CA. During his next assignment at Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX, he met and married Patricia Gray. Lew and Pat have two lovely daughters, Kimberly and Shellee, who now reside in Alexandria, VA, and Kim is married to Marco Cooper.

Lew proudly served in the Army for 25 years, achieving the rank of Colonel. His military career took him to many parts of the world with assignments at Fort Ord, CA; Fort Bliss, TX; Germany; Fort Leavenworth, KS; Schofield Barracks, HI; Fort Lewis. WA; Fort McNair, DC and finally the Pentagon for his last seven years of active duty. He was in the Vietnam War in the 1970s and Gulf War in the 1990s. He earned numerous commendations for his bravery and leadership during his Army career. He was honored during the 30-year celebration of the "Army 10-Miler" for having completed all events since the race began in 1984. His commitment to his country was unwavering and he was a source of inspiration to many who knew him.

Following his distinguished military service, Lew embarked on a new personal journey in life. He retired from the Army in 1993, met Carolyn Provience, and they were married in 1994. He created a blended family adding two sons, FreDerick Smith and Merrill (Deuce) Provience, along with his daughters. Lew and Carolyn were married 30 years; lived in Huntsville, AL; Arlington, VA; and Alexandria, VA, where they currently reside. They embarked on this journey together to work hard and see the world, which led to visiting all 50 states in the US during vacations, as well as trips and cruises to many beautiful places in other countries, such as France, England, Portugal, Australia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam, enjoying new sights and making lasting memories. Lew loved family, friends, entertaining people, food, all sports, music, afternoon naps, managing the football pool, poker, taxes, and just living life each day.

After retiring from the Army, Lew's professional career led him to the defense industry where he proudly supported the government for 22 years from 1993 to 2015. He worked for two corporations - Titan and Applied Research Associates (ARA) - as a Division Manager and a Vice President in each company. He also had a tenure as President of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) organization, the world's largest nonprofit devoted to unmanned and robotics technologies supporting defense, civil, and commercial sectors.

Lew retired from the defense industry in 2015 and Carolyn from the Department of Defense in 2016. He embraced his entrepreneurial drive and converted his part-time hobby tax business of about 100 clients into a very successful tax preparation and advice small business, where he, Carolyn, Kim, Shellee, and Javon (grandson) worked together to service over 430 clients. More important than the successful expansion of his business was the opportunity to work as a team, spend quality time together, and meet many new people that he could assist.

Lew is survived by his lovely and loving wife, Carolyn; two daughters, Kim and Shellee, and Kim's husband Marco; two step-sons, Derick and Deuce; god-son, Brian Williams; four grandchildren, Javon, Daeshia, Kobe, and Sidney; one great-grandson, Kannon; niece, Melissa, her husband Todd and their son, Colton; nephew, David, his wife Heather, and their children Shayna and Adin; cousins Jerry, Elissa, Lauren and her husband, Floyd, and Barbara (recently deceased); as well as numerous other family members. Extremely important in Lew's life are long-term "Army Buddies" and two life-long friends from Brooklyn.

Honorary Pallbearers: FreDerick Smith, Merrill (Deuce) Provience, Marco Cooper, Javon Trice, Kobe Smith, Kannon Thompson, David Glovinsky, and Todd Lemoine.

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