Babylon village trustee Sean Goodwin dies

Babylon Village trustee Sean Goodwin, who took the seat less than nine months ago, has died unexpectedly, village officials have confirmed.

Goodwin, 65, was appointed to the position by Mayor Mary Adams in December and joined the board at its Jan. 14 meeting. He took over for KathyAnn Miga, who resigned midterm, and he was elected in March to fill out the remainder of the term, which ends in March 2027.

According to a post on the village’s Facebook page, Goodwin had been diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. Several village officials told Newsday Goodwin had undergone treatments and was feeling optimistic, but his health unexpectedly took a turn last month and he was admitted to the hospital. He died Sept. 2.

Adams wrote on the village’s Facebook page that even as he was going through cancer treatments, Goodwin continued to be active in his role.

“He went to ribbon cuttings, attended events and meetings, he was in parades and never missed being around the Village that he truly loved,” she wrote. “He was our inspiration.”

Adams has not said when someone will be appointed to his position.

Goodwin’s service to his community started years before he took his trustee seat, village leaders told Newsday. He was on the board of the Historical & Preservation Society for three years and on the steering committee of the village’s historic Nathaniel Conklin House for seven years. He also served on the village's Pride Parade committee since its inception five years ago, and on the village planning board in the months just prior to his appointment to the board of trustees.

“Never a day will go by that Sean Goodwin’s imprint will not be in our hearts and will always be seen throughout our Village,” Adams wrote on Facebook.

Goodwin, who retired from the retail sales industry, lived in Babylon with his husband, Charles, for 19 years in a home that was built in the 19th century. He told Newsday in January that his family has roots in the village going back decades and that he was excited to serve on the board.

He said his goals included helping downtown businesses thrive, promoting volunteerism and keeping the Conklin House a vital asset to the village.

“That’s my challenge, to get people interested in the house and get them into the house,” he said. “It’s amazing when I’m there and I see people who have lived in the village for 13 years and they say, ‘I didn’t know what this house was.’”

Adams credited Goodwin with helping the beautification society redesign village gazebo plantings and praised his work as co-chair of a new safe driving committee, and in getting the village’s first “Music on the Porch Day” event off the ground. He also was instrumental in creating a popular “Village Soiree” in July that helped raise funds for the Conklin House, she wrote. 

Leaders from across the town and county posted tributes to Goodwin on social media. Village officials who worked with Goodwin for years said the loss for Babylon is immeasurable.

“He very quickly became a very important piece of the fabric of Babylon Village,” Historical & Preservation Society President Judy Skillen told Newsday. “He epitomized service. No matter what you asked Sean to do, he would do it, he would be there.”

Goodwin also had the unique ability to “make everyone feel that they were special,” Skillen said.

Tom Vitale, president of the village’s chamber of commerce and director of the library, told Newsday that when Goodwin became a village trustee, it was a proud moment for him, not out of ego, but because it broadened his ability to help his community.

“There are people out there who use positions as a resume builder or just because it looks good,” he said. “But Sean never did it for that. Sean was just quietly working in the background.”

A funeral for Goodwin was held Tuesday and Adams ordered village flags be flown at half-staff in his honor. Also Tuesday, Adams declared that Goodwin’s birthday, April 22, would become Sean Goodwin Day in the village.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.