Paul Edward Goddard passed from this life February 6, 2023 at the age of 68 in Memphis, Tennessee. Paul was born December 6, 1954 in Phoenix, Arizona to William "Bill" and Joyce (Richey) Goddard, the eldest of five children. Upon his father's discharge from the Army, Paul's family returned to their home state of Oklahoma. Paul graduated from McLoud High School, then attended college at Oklahoma Christian University. He relocated to Memphis to attend Harding Graduate School of Religion. It was in Memphis he met his wife, Vicki (Campbell) Goddard. They married on June 12, 1982 in Leesburg, Florida. The two celebrated 48 years together and had two daughters.

Paul was first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ. He worked at the Harding Academy of Memphis for 38 years, serving 32 of those years as dean. His other years were spent teaching various bible and social studies classes from sixth grade to seniors. 

Paul had no intention of working in education. While substituting at Harding Academy during grad school, he was asked to replace a teacher who left and agreed to finish out the school year. Paul's plan was to pursue ministry, however, he was convinced to stay at Harding for an additional year. He found that he enjoyed teaching and decided to stay; an opportunity that allowed him to minister to thousands over his career.

Paul was a huge history buff. Often when teaching, he would tell his students to mark through certain paragraphs if there was a new textbook out and the information was incorrect. Paul's love of history came from listening to his family tell stories about the history that happened around him. In addition to his ability to make the words on the page come alive, Paul also used history as a vessel to shape the lives of young men and women. 

As told by some of Paul's former students:

"Mr. Goddard was the father figure for many who were unfortunate enough not to have that positive influence at home. Even though disciplining was his job, it didn't appear to be a job. Even though we had no doubt he meant business, his firm discipline came from his heart. He always had our backs. Afterwards he would always pick us up and tell us that we had value. He was always fair."

"What stood out to me about Paul was his empathy and non judgment. He wore his hard shell as a disciplinarian well, but remained kind, empathetic, and approachable." 

Despite residing in Tennessee, Paul stayed true to his roots, cheering on the Oklahoma Sooners football team. Paul was a "Boomer Sooner" for life, an interest he passed down to his children. 

In 2018, Paul was diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma. When asked what kept his faith strong while living with cancer, Paul replied "What are they going to do… threaten me with heaven?" After passing away in 2023, Paul made the admirable decision to donate his body for scientific research.

Paul was preceded in death by his brother Richard Neal Goddard, sister Noma Lynn Goddard, father-in-law, Sam Campbell, and mother-in-law Attie (Bowling) Campbell.