Nicholas “Big Jim” Goodreau

Nicholas “Big Jim” Goodreau

1939-2023

Nicholas “Big Jim” Goodreau, age 84, a resident of Los Lunas, passed away on Thursday May 25, 2023, peacefully at home with his son, Kent Goodreau, by his side.

Services are currently pending.

He was born on March 12, 1939, in Fort Yates, N.D., to parents Robert Charles and Mary Fox Goudreau.

Nicholas is survived by his son, Kent Goodreau; grandson, Christopher (Shauna); granddaughter, Kelly; great-grandsons, Jacob, Joseph, Jaxson and Joshua; great-granddaughters, Ella and Elena; nephew, Mac A. Rogers; nieces, Richinda Harvey and Mary Sue Rogers; great-nephew, Kristopher Harvey; great-niece, Miranda Rogers; great-great nephews, Anthony J. and Kevin Harvey, Maverick and Rome Higgins; and great-great nieces, Grace, Julia and Rayna Harvey.

Jim is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Clarence Goudreau; sisters, Sue Lawson, Barbara Johnston and Frances Rogers.

He was of Lakota Sioux, Hidatsa decent. Jim went to Garrison High School, then on to Bacone College, where he was on the basketball team, winning state titles.

He enlisted in the Army, playing on many Army basketball teams, at 6-foot, 7-inches tall, he stood out in the crowd. When he met his 6-foot, 4-inch son for the first time at the Albuquerque Airport, it wasn’t hard for them to spot each other.

Jim was also a very talented artist with many of his paintings hanging in various tribal offices from Fort Berthold to Albuquerque.

Thank you to all the caregivers from Hospice de la Luz and Simplicity who have helped with the care of Jim. Please sign Nicholas’s online tribute at romerofuneralhomenm.com. Romero Funeral Home, 609 N. Main St., Belen.