William Allen Good

William “Bill” Allen Good, a longtime federal public servant, father, husband, brother, and uncle—died on August 19, 2026, in Wyndmoor, Pa. after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 74.

Bill was born on January 8, 1952, in Washington, D.C., the son of John Carter Good and Anne Leeper Good. He grew up primarily in Washington, DC and attended St. Albans School, graduating in 1969. That summer, at 17, he joined hundreds of thousands of others who made their way to a dairy farm in upstate New York for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, an experience that became part of the story of a young man coming of age during an extraordinary moment in American life.

He went on to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., where he studied art history and graduated in 1973.

The years immediately after college reflected the curiosity and unconventional spirit that would characterize much of Bill’s life. Back in Washington, he held an assortment of jobs, including working on the construction of the city’s Metro system and as a professional photographer, serving as a courtside photographer for the then Washington Bullets.

In 1975, he joined the curatorial department of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, beginning an association with the museum that lasted until 1984 and coincided with its emergence as one of the most visited museums in the world.

While at the Smithsonian, Bill founded the National Frisbee Festival, an event on the National Mall that brought together athletes and enthusiasts to showcase a still-emerging sport in front of thousands of eager spectators. At a time when the Frisbee was largely regarded as a backyard pastime, the festival celebrated the skill, athleticism and creativity that could be coaxed from a simple flying disc. It was characteristic of Bill: imaginative, a little unconventional, and driven by an enthusiasm for bringing people together around something he found interesting.

His career eventually brought him from Washington to Philadelphia, where he joined the Economic Development Administration (EDA), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. There, he helped administer federal economic development grants benefiting lower-income and economically distressed communities across the East Coast.

It became the longest chapter of his professional life. Bill remained with the EDA until his retirement in 2014, spending decades in public service and working largely behind the scenes to direct federal resources toward communities seeking greater economic opportunity.

Philadelphia also gave Bill the most important relationships of his life.

In 1987, he met Janet “Lulu” Laubenstein. They married in 1991 in Pocono Lake, Pa., beginning a marriage that would span 35 years. Their son, Anderson James Good, was born in 1993.

Bill possessed an abiding curiosity that extended well beyond his professional life. He loved hiking and camping, and some of his happiest adventures took him west, where he could spend his days on trails and nights under open skies. He was an avid train rider and supporter and had a fondness for $2 bills, the sort of small eccentricity that those who knew him came to associate unmistakably with Bill.

He had a vocabulary second to none and delighted in putting it to use. Words, stories and humor came naturally to him. So did laughter. Bill possessed a sense of humor that could enliven a room and a laugh that was unmistakable, infectious and difficult not to join.

Among the passions that meant the most to him was squash, a game he introduced to his son when Anderson was young. What began as a sport they shared became one of the enduring bonds between father and son. Bill watched Anderson grow up through the game, following him from his earliest days on court through his years as a competitive player and into adulthood. He remained an enthusiastic and devoted spectator, watching Anderson play squash until just months before his death. For Bill, the pleasure was never simply in the competition. It was in being there, watching his son play a game they both loved.

For all the variety of his professional life, the enduring center of Bill’s life was his family. He shared a life with Lulu that began in Philadelphia, continued in Wyndmoor and was deeply connected to Pocono Lake, and he took enormous pleasure and pride in watching their son grow from childhood into adulthood.

Bill is survived by his wife, Janet “Lulu” Laubenstein; his son, Anderson Good; his brothers, Carter Good and his wife, Nancy, and Bob Good; and his nephews, Ted, Chase, John and Paul.

Those who knew Bill will remember the breadth of his curiosity, the precision of his words, his wit and that unmistakable laugh. They will remember a man who could find something worth knowing almost anywhere and who approached life with an individuality entirely his own and devotion to the family he loved.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to US Squash https://ussquash-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1301522 or the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) https://giving.nmdp.org/campaign/639075/donate?c_src=brand_fdtn&c_src2=fdtn_evrgrn_brand&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21894551707&gbraid=0AAAAADRYjn84OiP-tZD-VDTcxkLcIqikD&gclid=CjwKCAjwwL_UBhAjEiwAEhuT5Mf7McIg49OA2xLe_1hN77oKTThSBK2UBy1m2Ede94kR89J9pedOKRoCfyUQAvD_BwE.

A Quaker-style memorial service will be held at 1pm on Sunday, September 13 at Sunnybrook Golf Club. If you are so inclined, please come prepared with a memory or story to share about Bill.