WASHINGTON D.C. — Brian Googins, 70, died on March 11 from Parkinson’s Disease.

He was born on April 10, 1941, the second of six boys born to Margaret and Herbert Googins.

He grew up in Portland and graduated from Cheverus High School where he was awarded a scholarship to Georgetown University. He graduated from Georgetown in 1963 with a degree in International Relations from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and, having entered officer candidate school, was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in November of 1963.

Googins served on the U.S.S. Pine Island and in Vietnam where he was originally assigned a desk job in Saigon but requested a transfer to the field. He was stationed in My Tho in the Mekong Delta where he acted as an advisor to South Vietnamese troops.

After being honorably discharged in 1967, he spent time in New York before making his way back to Washington D.C. Once back in Washington, he worked a series of jobs, culminating with a position as an economist with the U.S. Department of Labor.

As his fiftieth birthday approached, Googins decided to take his life in a new direction and he became a foreign service officer with the state department. This position took advantage of his love of history and politics, his great way with people and his facility with foreign languages. He was stationed in both Bangkok, Thailand and Beijing and thrived in the job, but his Parkinson’s Disease forced an early retirement.

He was a great fan of the arts, notably opera, the symphony, theater and foreign movies. He was always traveling or planning a trip, and he made Bangkok his home away from home. Googins had an uncanny gift for connecting with people and bringing others together. Long before Facebook, he was a one-man social network and his network of friends extends around the globe.

He was predeceased by his parents and his brother, Daniel.

Googins is survived by his brothers, Bruce and his wife, Marianne, of Crownsville, Md., Bradley and his wife, Ridgely Fuller, of Waltham, Mass., Mark and his wife, Betts, of Cumberland, Michael, of Portland; sister-in-law Renate Googins, as well as an uncle and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

A memorial service was held at Grand Oaks Assisted Living in Washington D.C. on March 17 and he will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area (parkinsonfoundation.org), Cheverus High School (cheverus.org) or Georgetown University (georgetown.edu).

Copy the Story Link