Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | James Francis Goble |
| Born | March 29, 1913 — Marion, Smyth County, Virginia |
| Died | December 20, 1956 — Newport News, Virginia |
| Occupation | Teacher (noted as a chemistry teacher) |
| Spouse | Creola Katherine (Coleman) Goble (later known as Katherine Johnson) |
| Children | Three daughters — Constance, Joylette, and Katherine (Kathy) |
| Notable | Remembered primarily as a devoted husband and father; life cut short by illness in 1956 |
A life sketched in classroom light and family photographs
I like to picture James Francis Goble in the cool hush of a classroom — chalk dust like a faint constellation on his sleeves, the slow rhythm of a lesson unfolding. Born on March 29, 1913, in Marion, Virginia, his life spans a compact arc of numbers: 1913 — 1939/1940 (marriage, circa) — 1956 (death). Those years contain a small but intense universe: marriage, three daughters, a profession in teaching, and a sudden, heartbreaking end.
Marriage to Creola Katherine Coleman — the woman later known to history as Katherine Johnson — came around 1939–1940, and from that union came three daughters: Constance, Joylette, and Katherine (often called Kathy at home). In family lore he is steady, not a man who sought headlines, but someone whose private life anchored a household in times that demanded resilience.
Classroom, career, and the making of a provider
James is described in the records most often as a teacher — specifically a chemistry teacher in some references. The details are spare: job title rather than a career narrative, an occupation that tells us he stood before groups of young people with a penchant for order, demonstration, and the neat alchemy of experiments.
Teaching is the kind of work that doesn’t always leave a public trail — no glossy profiles, no datasets of achievements to mine — but it leaves fingerprints: students who remember a particular demonstration, a parent grateful for steady pay, a wife balancing family and work alongside him. That sense of everyday heroism is the one that clings to James’s memory.
Dates that matter — a compact timeline
| Year / Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 29, 1913 | Birth in Marion, Smyth County, VA |
| Circa 1939–1940 | Marriage to Creola Katherine Coleman |
| 1940s | Births of three daughters (Constance, Joylette, Katherine) |
| December 20, 1956 | Death in Newport News, VA (after an illness) |
Numbers here are lean and factual — they don’t dramatize the small domestic scenes: a daughter’s scraped knee, a late-night lesson plan, a living room lit by the radio. Still, those numbers anchor the story.
Family introductions — each person in the portrait
I’ll introduce them as you might meet them at a family gathering — in quick, vivid strokes.
| Relation | Name | Introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse | Creola Katherine (Coleman) Goble (Katherine Johnson) | His wife — a brilliant mathematician and the household’s fierce mind; together they raised three daughters in a mid-century world on the move. |
| Daughter | Constance | The eldest (by recollection and family accounts), a child of the 1940s and part of the tight core that held the family steadier after loss. |
| Daughter | Joylette | One of the middle voices in the house — laughter, sibling bargaining, and the small rebellions of growing up. |
| Daughter | Katherine (Kathy) | Named for family continuity, Kathy carried the shared name forward as both daughter and echo of her mother’s bright mind. |
These short introductions aren’t exhaustive biographies — they’re doorways. Each name opens onto a room full of unspoken histories: lullabies, school uniforms, the way grief rearranges a household. James is the spine that held that structure until illness changed the architecture.
Illness, passing, and the quiet legacy
In December 1956, at the age of 43, James’s life came to an end. The illness that claimed him is remembered within the family narrative as severe and ultimately untreatable; his death left a small family to find new ways forward. There is something cinematic in that abrupt shift — one day a classroom’s routine, the next a house reshaped by absence — and I find that image stubbornly compelling.
He didn’t leave an empire or a public ledger of wealth. Instead, what remains is domestic: three daughters, a wife whose later life would capture public notice, and the quiet memory of a teacher who loved his family. If legacy were measured in boardroom titles, it would be small; measured in the terms that matter in living rooms and schools — presence, patience, the steady delivery of a lesson — it is larger.
Public mentions, memory, and how a life is remembered
James’s name flickers into public view mostly through family narratives and the retrospective attention on his wife’s remarkable career. He appears in those stories as a companion and a father—not as a celebrity—but his role is essential: he is part of the human scaffolding behind a woman whose life later attracted wider recognition.
Modern mentions are terse, respectful, and familial — the sort of remembrance reserved for those whose influence is intimate rather than billboarded. That intimacy is a kind of quiet fame: not the flash of headlines, but the durable presence in the stories a family tells itself.
FAQ
Who was James Francis Goble?
James Francis Goble was a teacher born on March 29, 1913, who married Creola Katherine Coleman and fathered three daughters.
When and where was he born and when did he die?
He was born in Marion, Smyth County, Virginia on March 29, 1913, and died in Newport News, Virginia on December 20, 1956.
Who was his spouse?
His spouse was Creola Katherine Coleman Goble, later widely known as Katherine Johnson.
How many children did he have?
He had three daughters: Constance, Joylette, and Katherine (Kathy).
What did he do for a living?
He worked as a teacher and is noted in records as a chemistry teacher.
What caused his death?
He died in 1956 after a serious illness that proved untreatable at the time.
Is there public information about his net worth?
There is no reliable public information reporting a net worth for James Francis Goble.
How is he most often remembered today?
He is most often remembered as a devoted family man and the first husband of Katherine; his presence is recalled warmly, in domestic detail rather than headlines.
