April 14, 1942 - December 4, 2005

Cause of death: cancer

Obituary: GOYERT John Emmett Goyert Jr. died peacefully at home in Martha's Vineyard on December 4 after a remarkable battle with cancer. He was 63. Born on April 14, 1942 to a musical family in Cincinnati, it was only natural for John to blossom into a thespian and singer both on and off the stage. His mother, Dorothy Mather Goyert (a direct descendent of Cotton Mather), and father, John Emmett Goyert, had a piano teacher that inspired John to channel his loud and boisterous voice into song. It was at Walnut Hills High School (where he graduated in 1960) that John began his singing career. At Hamilton College, class of 1964, he began his theatrical career by playing Caliban in Shakespeare's "The Tempest.'' John pursued a graduate degree at Columbia Business School from 1964 to 1966 where he majored in marketing. His love for the limelight drove him to a career in advertising, beginning at Young and Rubicam in 1966 and moving to Ogilvy & Mather, where he remained for 19 years. While in New York City, John joined the Blue Hill Troupe, a theatre group that performed Gilbert and Sullivan operettas each year for charity. Not only did he become President of the group in 1979, but this is also where he met his wife, Alice Franklin. In 1980 John's love for adventure drove him to accept a job running the Argentine branch of Ogilvy & Mather in Buenos Aires. After the Falkland Island War in 1982 he and his family moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil and in 1985 they moved to Mexico City, Mexico. While running the local offices of O & M in each country, John and his family became fluent in both Portuguese and Spanish. And of course, John was active in community theatre and church choirs wherever he landed. In 1988 John brought his family back to the United States where he ran the Sears account for O & M in Chicago. Later he took a job in the marketing department for Citibank. He then took over marketing for Diners Club International, a subsidiary of Citibank, joined Western Union International and, finally Bank One in Columbus, Ohio. John retired in 1999 to Martha's Vineyard where he and his family had been coming every summer since 1980. With retirement, John again had time for community theatre. He joined the Royal Palm Players in Boca Grande, Florida where he and Alice spent a few months every winter. He also became active in the Vineyard Playhouse and recently served as treasurer. He also sang with the Island Community Chorus. While most of John's daylight hours in retirement were spent hitting that little white ball around the course, his nighttime hours were spent entertaining friends with stories and songs. John was a lover of people and life and lived it to the fullest. John is survived by his wife, Alice Franklin Goyert; children John Emmett Goyert III of New York City, Wendy Mather Goyert of Washington, DC, and Holly Franklin Goyert of San Francisco, Calif.; his mother Dorothy Mather Goyert of Cincinnati, Ohio; his sister Sanna Mather Goyert of New York City; and his grandson Lani Colombo Goyert. A memorial service will be held Saturday January 7th at 10:30 A.M. at The Indian Hill Church. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in memory of John to The Sarcoma Foundation of America, P.O. Box 458, Damascus, MD 20872.