Mr. Jim Goldstine died peacefully of natural causes on Nov. 1, 2025, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, his adopted home of 30 years, at the age of 90.
He died as he lived — a kind, gentle soul, preferring to stand loyally in the supportive background of his family so they could shine their brightest.
In his usual giving spirit, Jim shared his Feb. 22 birthday with his own dad. Born in 1935 in upstate New York, he was the only child of Harold and Mary Goldstine. He was raised in Fulton and Baldwinsville, N.Y., and he graduated from SUNY Oswego with a teaching degree.
At the age of 21, he met 16-year-old Dawn in Syracuse in 1956 and married her in Georgia in 1957 after joining the U.S. Navy and being called to serve in Guam for three years.
Their son, Chris, was born in Guam in 1958 and their daughter, Shara, followed when they returned to the United States in 1960. Jim and Dawn moved to Long Island when Jim got his first teaching job.
Jim received his master’s degree in education from Hofstra University and taught high school electronics for 30 years until he and Dawn moved to Exmore in 1989. Jim spent the next 17 years in “retirement” teaching electronics and then computer science at Eastern Shore Community College, where he was known in his own right as a steadfast friend and colleague.
Jim continued his passion for teaching and technology when he became a mentor for Northampton High School’s first robotics team alongside his grandson, Matt. Jim loved good food, music, and the arts as a member of the ESO Arts Center. He was even begrudgingly persuaded to sing, dance, and act in a few plays put on by the local community theater.
Jim and Dawn moved his father, Goldy, and her mother, Marguerite, to the Eastern Shore and dutifully took care of them, along with Chris’ mother-in-law, Gerda, so they could comfortably live out their last days.
Upon his own retirement from the U.S. Coast Guard, Chris moved with his wife and son to the Eastern Shore, making this beautiful place near Silver Beach a home for the entire Goldstine family. Jim’s brother-in-law, Steve, and his wife, Judy Rulison, also now reside on Occohannock Neck. Shara raised twins with her husband in Ithaca, N.Y., but spent many lovely Christmases and summer breaks at the Goldstine homestead.
Jim is survived by his wife of 68 years, Dawn, his one true love. He leaves behind his son, Chris Goldstine, Chris’ wife, Linda, and their son, Matt, who Jim would have proudly told you now works at NASA on Wallops Island and lives near Chincoteague with his new wife, Kat. He is also survived by his daughter, Shara Walden, her husband, Jeff, and their children, whom Jim adored, Trevor and Grace Walden, now attending college in upstate New York.
A celebration of life will be announced.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.doughtyfuneralhome.com
Arrangements were made by Doughty Funeral Home in Exmore.
