A Moving Obituary of First Amendment Lawyer Kevin W. Goering

I didn't know the man, but the obituary, written by his daughter, makes me wish I had. There are many nice lines there, but one that struck me was, "He had plenty of fears, but he believed in facing them head on."

That reminds me of one of my favorite lines, from Rebecca West, writing in the Epilogue to Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1941); it was about the British after the fall of France, who were of course facing a whole different magnitude of fear, but I think it's more broadly applicable as well:

Let nobody belittle them by pretending they were fearless. Not being as the ox and the ass, they were horribly afraid. But their pale lips did not part to say the words that would have given them security and dishonour.

Comments

[M L]

Good one.

[CamilleGoering]

Dear Eugene,

Kevin Goering was my father, and I wrote the obituary. I want to thank you for your post. It has been a year since he died and I searched his name on Google, because sometimes I like to read his accolades. You lawyers get a bad rep--there is so much good being done in this field.
My Dad was an incredible man--and not just by my standards. He was a First Amendment fanatic, and his eccentric behavior and often shocking remarks were a testament to that.
Dad read the obituaries every day. He used to ask me all the time: "what do you think mine will say?"
I am 27 and this is the second obituary I have written for a parent. I'm alone now. But posts like this one remind me of the myriad ways in which we are remembered, and even when forgotten, preserved in the annals of human endeavor and creativity.
Thank you also because I am an aspiring writer, and his obituary has received more attention than anything I've written thus far (ha ha). But thank you mostly for taking time from your life to read about a man who meant the world to me.

Camille Goering