56 | JANUARY 25 • 2024 

G

eraldine “Gerry” 
Katherine Goodman, 
96, of Birmingham, 
died Dec. 24, 2023. She found-
ed the Wells Freight & Cargo 
stores in 1975.
 She was gracious, generous, 
strong and loving, traits she 
had every moment of her life. 
 Goodman was born May 19, 
1927, in Cleveland to Cynthia 
and Milton Teitelbaum (later 
Todd). She was an only child. 
They came to Detroit in 1931. 
Goodman attended Durfee, 
then Central High, graduating 
in 1944. She was pretty and was 
a model at 17. She was creative 
from a young age. She formed 
lifelong friendships during 
these years. 
After high school, Goodman 
attended Detroit Tech for 
journalism. She was particular 
about grammar. Into her 90s, 
she was still doing the NY Times 
crossword puzzle in pen. She 
loved Jeopardy.
After Detroit Tech, 
Goodman was hired by an 
advertising firm downtown as 
a copywriter, proofreader and 
cartoonist. She had a long list 
of clients. She wrote copy for 
radio and TV boxing matches.
She got married in 1948 and 
had three children: Marsha, 
Wendy and Buzz.
Though she was married at 
different points of her life, Buzz 
says he and his sisters were 
really, mostly, virtually raised 
by a single mom.
“
And she was very proud 
of that,” Buzz said. “She loved 
being our mom. She was a 
great mom.”
“Nothing ever seemed to faze 

her,” Wendy said. “She raised 
us all as individuals and was 
always very supportive of any-
thing we did. She was the wind 
beneath our wings.” 
“She had incredibly high 
standards and expectations. 
Her parents instilled 
very strict and high 
expectations in her 
of herself, and she 
definitely had those 
expectations of us,” 
Buzz said. 
Goodman would 
famously enter into 
the kids’ rooms in the 
middle of the night, 
read their papers and make 
sure they were rewritten if they 
weren’t up to par. Her children’s 
academic careers were very 
important to her. 
She led everything with her 
kids with love. There was love 
in their food, their phone calls 
and their countless birthday 
cards each year. There was love 
from her in everything. 
She loved food, culture, music 
and all the finer things in life. 
She loved to travel. She was a 
strong advocate for women. 
“
And she was brilliant. The 
most well-read person I’ll ever 
meet in my life. We were raised 
in houses that had massive 
libraries,” Buzz said. 
Goodman was a gourmet 
cook in many respects, but 
also loved midnight runs to 
Lafayette Coney Island. As a 
night owl, late-night movies 
were a staple. 
“She was always a favorite 
laughing partner, always ready 
to have a good time. She had 
a fabulous sense of humor,” 

Wendy said. “
And she was an 
incredible friend, not only to 
her friends, but to our friends.”
She was a great role model 
for her children as a strong, 
independent Jewish woman. 
She was very involved in the 
community: Allied 
Jewish Campaign, 
Israel Bonds, 
Hadassah. She 
belonged to Temple 
Israel.
Goodman loved 
her grandchildren 
beyond words. If 
she could’ve inhaled 
them, she would 
have. Her eyes would glow and 
sparkle. Theirs would, too. She 
was always so proud of them. 
Gerry Goodman was a 
woman for all seasons. After 
her career in advertising, she 
started and ran her own busi-
ness: Wells Freight & Cargo. 
The first store opened in 
Livonia in 1975. 
The concept of the business 
was selling discount china and 
glassware. Her idea was to buy 
and sell factory seconds, close-
outs and overruns.
“Once she started the business, 
it was 24/7,” Marsha said. “The 
concept was unique and ahead of 
its time, and it took off.” 
Goodman had a brilliant eye 
for products, and the passion-
ate customer base reflected 
that. She became incredibly 
successful.
By 1980, Goodman was 
honored by the Small Business 
Administration as Small 
Business Person of the Year 
and received her award at 
The White House during the 

administration of President 
Jimmy Carter. 
The employees, over 100 of 
them, adored her. She would 
make lunch for the entire ware-
house. She counseled them and 
became part of their families. 
Goodman was passionate 
about the happiness she was 
giving people with the prod-
ucts she was selling and the 
great pricing. They ended up 
opening 10 more stores — in 
Michigan, Ohio and Colorado. 
It was in business for nearly 20 
years. 
Her late husband, Walter, 
also attended Central High 
School. They knew each other 
then. They were married for 37 
years until Walter passed away 
in 2008. He became her “silent 
partner” in the business. 
Around the same time 
Goodman opened her first 
Wells Freight & Cargo store, 
she also opened a restaurant at 
Wonderland Mall in Livonia 
called Smart Alex. The restau-
rant offered all of her home-
made soups. 
“She truly was a woman 
for all seasons,” Wendy said. 
“I don’t know anything she 
couldn’t do.” 
“Whatever she did, she threw 
herself into it,” Marsha added. 
“Two feet, no question.”
Even in her later years, 
Goodman would come up with 
ideas for new businesses. 
Goodman often told her 
loved ones that their conscience 
is a “built-in policeman” in 
their head, and that is how they 
should always think about right 
from wrong. 
Wendy also noted that Gerry 
taught her children and grand-
children to always “think ahead 
of their head,” to always look 
ahead.
“When I hold a door for 
someone or I do something 
good, the first thing I say is ‘my 

Gerry Goodman Was A 
Woman For All Seasons

DANNY SCHWARTZ SENIOR STAFF REPORTER

OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

