Esteemed Quincy patrol officer dies

QUINCY — The Quincy Police Department staff are going to miss patrol officer Francis “Scott” Goodwin’s stories and distinctive laugh.

“I always saw him as a large teddy bear,” said police clerk Cindi Bepple. “He was a kidder; he use to stand in the doorway of the office, leaning against the frame with both arms at his side, telling a story about a trip he went on.”

He loved teasing Bepple about the difference in their ages.

“He loved the fact that he was born the year I graduated from high school and would always kid me about that,” Bepple said. “He had a heart of gold, but he didn’t want anyone to know about it.”

Goodwin, 42, passed away in his sleep Saturday morning at his home. He did various jobs at the Quincy Police Department for 15 years.

“I think he was a great guy with a great big heart who always served with honor and integrity,” said Interim Police Chief Greg Meinzer. “He did the very best job he could do every day.”

Meinzer said he always put Quincy citizens first.

“He contributed a lot to what goes on around here,” Meinzer said. “This job requires you to put yourself in harm’s way and he was never reluctant to get involved and do what he could to help keep the peace.”

“He was a great man and was taken too early, that’s for sure,” said wife Gina Goodwin. “I am going to miss his presence, being able to talk to him, his laughs and his jokes.”

Gina met Scott while working the night shift as a nurse at Quincy Valley Medical Center.

“The police take care of us nurses working at the night shift, checking in with us to see if we are doing OK,” Gina said. “I noticed his size first. I could tell that even though he was trying to be rough, he was just a teddy bear and I could see right through him.”

The two married Oct. 16, 2000. They enjoyed staying up late, both working the night shift at their jobs.

“Even on our days off, we’d sleep all day and stay up all night,” Gina said. “He liked the autonomy at nights and said it felt good for him to go out and protect the city.”

Vacations in Mexico are Gina’s favorite memories with Scott.

 “We enjoyed cruising around Mexico together. It was our time to get away and relax,” Gina said. “One of the last vacations we went on was taking my son to Mexico and we just all had a really great time.”

Scott came to Quincy in August 1994 after finishing military service.

“He was looking for a police job and was ecstatic when he got the job in Quincy,” Gina said. “His favorite times on the jobs were when anything went well.”

Scott worked as an Emergency Vehicle Operations instructor, patrol officer and was a part of the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team in Grant County, during his years at the department.

“At work he was a straight-forward, no-nonsense guy who came in from patrol and went out and did his job,” said Sgt. Dan Dopps. “Off-duty he was a lively, gregarious guy that was good natured and always joking around.”

Dopps said he and Scott became good friends.

“He’s just fun to be around all the time,” he said. “He was a great guy and a great officer.”

Scott always demonstrated humility.

“He was here to do his job. He didn’t want any special accolades,” Dopps said. “He’d always say, ‘it falls in the line of duty, it’s part of my job and I don’t want any special credits or announcements for what I do.’”

Officer Sal Mancini remembers Scott’s dedication to his job.

“He was quiet and kept to himself,” Mancini said. “When he came to work he went out and did the job right. He can be assertive when he needs to be.”

Gina said Scott always maintained his vivacious personality, no matter where he was.

“One thing about Scott was that he was Scott no matter what,” Gina said. “Nothing ever phased him. He was a good person, he had a son Jack, whom he loved very much.”

 Dopps said the department is going to feel the loss of Scott.

“He’s going to be sorely missed,” Dopps said. “The loss will hurt everyone for awhile.”