In Loving Memory of Thomas Goforth

Thomas Goforth, 83, passed away peacefully on November 29, 2025. We honor the life and legacy of Thomas Goforth, a profoundly dedicated psychotherapist, pastoral counselor, healer, and community builder whose impact on Chicago spanned more than five decades. Ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in 1967, Thomas served with unwavering compassion as Chaplain to the Cook County Jail and the Chicago House of Correction while working with St. Leonard's House, one of the nation's earliest halfway houses. During the Vietnam War, he provided courageous draft counseling and community organizing, standing firmly for justice and human dignity.

After leaving active work in the Episcopal Church, Thomas helped establish the Lincoln Park Therapy Collective—an all-volunteer effort offering free group therapy for nearly 20 years—and played an instrumental role in creating Chicago's first crisis phone line. He later trained counselors for Kool Aid Youth Emergency Services and Metro Help, shaping the next generation of care professionals. In the 1980s, he co-founded the Milton H. Erickson Institute of Chicago, eventually serving as its third president and a respected member of its teaching faculty. His expertise extended into hypnotherapy and Reiki, and as a psychotherapist, he became a trusted guide to thousands seeking healing, clarity, and comfort.

But Thomas's life cannot be told through titles alone. He married countless couples, listened to endless stories, and offered counsel to all—especially to those with limited means. He was an advocate, a steady friend, and a quiet force for the greater good. A lover of art, theater, literature, music, culture, food, and a well-chosen red wine, he brought creativity into every corner of his life. His past as an actor in the Free Theater Company and Rapid Transit Guerrilla Communications left him with an irrepressible flair for improvisation and a corny, delightful sense of humor that could lift even the heaviest of days.

Thomas adored his family, cherished his friends, and gave freely without asking for anything in return. Later in life he lived holistically and bravely through bladder cancer, meeting each challenge with the same stubborn resilience, sharp wisdom, and unconditional love he had shown others all his life.

His last years became more difficult as a survivor of bladder cancer and with challenged mobility due to the continuing deterioration of his knee-joints. Later financial and health difficulties forced him to live first in independent living and later in assisted living housing. Through it all, he continued to radiate the joy and good humor which endeared him to many.

Thomas served more people than any one memorial could ever name—and he did so with a warm laugh, a generous heart, and the kind of humor that reminded us not to take ourselves too seriously. We will miss him deeply, and we carry his spirit forward with gratitude.

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