David Goicoechea

18-May-1938 - 28-Apr-2017

Obituary Overview

In Loving Memory

GOICOECHEA David – With great sorrow we announce the passing of David on Friday, April 28th 2017, at 78 years of age. Beloved spouse and best friend of Johanna Tito. Survived by his children Joseph, David, Charity, Crystal and their children. Predeceased by his sister Mary, his daughter Angela and son Jonathan. Brother of Bette-Jo, Robert, Clifford and Thomas. David studied with the Benedictine Monks at Mt. Angel Minor Seminary in Oregon for 6 years followed by 3 years with the Sulpician Fathers at St. Thomas Major Seminary in Kenmore, Washington where he earned his B.A. in philosophy. He left the seminary in 1962 to study philosophy at Loyola University (Chicago) receiving his doctoral degree with a dissertation on the Danish Existential philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard. He taught at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois from 1963-1966. In 1967 he came to Brock University where he taught philosophy, focussing on the philosophy of love, existentialism and post modernism, until his retirement in 2003 at which time he became professor emeritus. A born teacher, David ``looked upon teaching as a kind of friendship`` in which teacher and student appreciate the world of philosophy together. Philosophy for David was not only ``the love of wisdom`` but ``the wisdom of love,`` and if it there is one thing he believed it is that ``Love is not an either-or but a both-and.`` He founded the Brock University Philosophy Society in 1982 which hosted over 100 international conferences and raised over $400,000 in scholarships for philosophy students. After his retirement in 2003, David continued to host several discussion groups and one conference each year. He centred these around his research for the series of books he was writing, A Post Modern Summa which dealt with 2000 Years of Jesus` Love and its relation to the other world religions. Four volumes in the series have to date been published. Up until the last few days before his passing, David was still working on his books and his upcoming conference.
A special thanks to CCAC and ParaMed palliative home care services as well as the Walker Family Cancer Centre.
Family will receive friends at  J.J. Patterson & Sons Funeral Residence 19 Young Street, Welland  on Wednesday, May 3rd from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Vigil prayers will be held in the funeral home on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Funeral mass  will be celebrated in the Cathedral of St Catherine of Alexandria,, 67 Church St, St Catharines on May 4th , at 10:30 a.m. Cremation to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in David’s memory may be made to the Brock University David Goicoechea and Johanna Tito Scholarship Fund or Niagara Spay Neuter Assistance Program Inc.  on line memories and condolences at www.jjpatterson.ca As a memorial tribute, a tree will be planted through The Niagara Woodlands Restoration Program. A tree grows – memories live.

Funeral Details

  • Visitation

    J.J. Patterson & Sons Funeral Residence

    Event Times:

    03-May-2017 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

  • Visitation

    J.J. Patterson & Sons Funeral Residence

    Event Times:

    03-May-2017 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

  • Vigil

    J.J. Patterson & Sons Funeral Residence

    Event Times:

    03-May-2017 7:30 PM - 7:45 PM

  • Funeral Mass

    The Cathedral of St Catherine of Alexandria

    Event Times:

    04-May-2017 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

More Details & Directions



Condolences from family and friends

Posted by Christina Poulakakis | 31-May-2017

Our beloved David is in God’s Arms now! As the harmonious and beautiful chanting filled the Cathedral during that celebratory Funeral Mass, I could see Angels carrying David’s soul up there. In a place, “where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sigh, but life eternal.” I loved David! We all loved David! All of us, young and old, who were so fortunate to have had him as our teacher. He was filling the classroom with grace and by his charismatic personality had a great effect on all of us. His enthusiasm for teaching, his knowledge, his generosity towards his students, his kindness and Joyful approach to everything, were perennially admired and cherished by them. We, the older ones, were rewarded with his friendship. In his person we found warmth, truthfulness, beauty, and love! He was a beautiful person, internally and externally. I had the privilege to be both his student and his friend. I have the most wonderful memories studying under his guidance, and later on, working with him in the Philosophy Society. I experienced the greatest joy going to the university and meeting with all these interesting and inspiring people. David was the main source of inspiration. His hard work all those years has left a great impact on the Philosophy Dept. of the University. There will never be another David Goicoechea. He was our prince of philosophy! His was the Golden Age of the Philosophy Dept. He had brought Joy, optimism and enthusiasm and a new yearning for learning. Attending all those wonderful Conferences that he was organizing was a most fantastic intellectual experience for me, and I would try to attend all of them. The socializing after them was a great fun as well. David’s Persona was always shining through . He stood there, tall, elegant, Joyful, always with a smile on his face. These are wonderful memories of times spent with a gentleman that I admired, respected, and loved. Christina Poulakakis St. Catharines

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Posted by Leo Stan | 10-May-2017

I have met David in the fall of 2001 as a fresh, international graduate student of Brock University. It is no exaggeration to say that he immediately took up the role of father and mentor, both of which roles he fulfilled gracefully, unconditionally, and gratuitously. He found a place for me to live, fed me on a regular basis, and introduced me to the fascinating undercurrents that connect Kierkegaard, Buddhism, and postmodern thought. I have been his teaching assistant, too, and thus, witnessed the seductive nature of his speech. He seamlessly navigated through Western and Eastern ideas and desperately, though always lovingly, showed students why philosophy and breathing are equally necessary to survive. David's love for and celebration of, this life and this world is and will remain a vivid memory. I had no idea that the same person could inhabit both Christian eschatology and Nietzsche's apostatic vitalism with the same ease and dedication. Moreover, it is as part of the absorbing joy he took in this life that he was not afraid to praise the powers of eros and to insist on the convergence between mundane attachments and celestial fidelity. And since laughter was one of his greatest gifts, I'd like to reminiscence a particular event which may give us a glimpse into his nature. As a graduate student I joined him in long walks to the classroom he was lecturing in. David spared no moment in trying to bring up one philosophical problem or another, and test my (always disappointing) intellectual skills. On many of these journeys we came across two beautiful twin sisters, whom we later found out were Russian. As a 25 year old I could not help noting their arresting looks and immediately interrupt whatever it was that we debated. We encountered them several times and I confessed to him that meeting any one of them would be sheer utopia for me. As time passed, our current prime-minister, back then just Trudeau Sr.'s son, gave a lecture on his father's legacy. David insisted I'd come to broaden my tragically limited East-European horizons. I remember meeting him in front of the hall and asked where he sat because I'd like to join him. We found some seats and then, he disappeared for whatever reason. Just a short while later, I heard him calling my name from the top of the stairs. He screamed so loudly that I am sure that was the only time Justin Trudeau would ever hear my name wherever he may have been. I turned my head and saw David waiving desperately to come to him. His face was all red and excited. Intrigue does not even begin to capture my state of mind. So, I went as quickly as my youthful legs allowed. Once outside I instantly saw him (with an unmistakable smile on his face) standing by one of the "Russian twins." I'm sure that if he won the Trojan war, his face couldn't have been more triumphant and ecstatic, as he most deferentially introduced me to her. That is how David was, making sure philosophical knowledge, politics, and the call of eros can be experienced within the span of just a few hours. I forgot to mention that on the same day, we discussed the nature (and ultimacy) of the mystical union with God; which adds religious love to the aforementioned mix. In short, David was and will always remain the father, the teacher, the friend, the confidant, and most importantly, the spiritual master who practiced neighbour love daily and with a passion impossible to imitate. Words are powerless in consoling us over his departure. May he rest in peace and finally witness what he always wanted, that reconciliatory oneness with the divine he aspired to throughout his whole adult life!

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