Elizabeth Virginia Goddard Goodpasture ’43 – From Tusculum to the Codebreaking Front Lines of WWII
Elizabeth Virginia “Ginny” Goddard Goodpasture, a 1943 graduate of Tusculum College, lived a life that reflected the very best of a
Tusculum education—academic excellence, service to country, lifelong learning, and a deep love for faith, music, and family.
Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1921, Ginny was raised in a large family that moved often, eventually settling in Fountain City, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. She graduated from Knoxville Central High School in 1939, where she was known for her academic achievement and musical talent. That passion for music and learning led her to enroll at Tusculum College, where she pursued a double major in English and Music.
At Tusculum, Ginny distinguished herself both academically and artistically. She frequently performed as a solo pianist and accompanist, culminating in her graduate recital in 1943 with works by Bach, Chopin, Mendelssohn, and others. Just months after graduating, Ginny answered the call to serve her country during World War II by joining the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), a newly formed division of the U.S. Navy.
After completing communications and cryptography training at Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges, Ginny was commissioned as an officer and joined the elite ranks of the Navy’s codebreaking team. Her talent in music, particularly her ability to recognize complex patterns, made her uniquely suited for this work. Historian Liza Mundy has noted that “music majors were wanted” for codebreaking, and Ginny’s Tusculum education was proving to be a valuable asset to the U.S. government.
Ginny’s first assignment was in New Orleans at the 8th Naval District, one of the most strategic naval ports in the Gulf region. She later served in Washington, D.C., at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, possibly working within the top-secret Naval Communications Annex (OP-20-G), which played a critical role in breaking the German Enigma code.
She rose to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, serving with distinction until her honorable discharge in 1946. That same year, she began a new chapter by studying occupational therapy in Philadelphia, where she would meet her future husband, Army veteran Jim Goodpasture.
Together, Ginny and Jim raised four children and lived a rich life filled with faith, creativity, and adventure from playing piano at a church in Mexico City, to attending bullfights with her children, to photographing the Sears Tower construction from its uppermost points. The Goodpastures lived in Mexico, Georgia, and Illinois before retiring to Sun City, Arizona, and later moving to West Virginia to be closer to family.
Ginny passed away in 2012, at the age of 90, surrounded by her children and the music she loved so dearly. She was laid to rest at the West Virginia National Cemetery beside her husband Jim. Their grave markers, fittingly, include lines from their favorite hymn:
“Jesus Loves Me, This I Know” and “For the Bible Tells Me So.”
Her daughter, Nancy Goodpasture, recently shared Ginny’s story with Tusculum and graciously donated an unmarked copy of the 1943 Tusculum yearbook, which Ginny had preserved. She also worked with the West Virginia National Cemeteries Project, where Ginny’s life was honored through a student-written biography supported by the West Virginia Humanities Council.
To read the full biography featured by the West Virginia Humanities Council, click here.
To view her obituary, click here.
