Friends Mourn Loss of Slain Gallery Owner

Herbert Goode, 66, was shot near an industrial building he owns in Gage Park

A Gold Coast businessman gunned down on the South Side Saturday is being remembered for the many lives he touched over the years.

Herbert Goode, 66, owner of Silver Cloud Gallery at 20 W. Ohio St., was shot at about 2 p.m. Saturday on the 2300 block of West 57th Street and pronounced dead a short time later at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Police believe Goode was the victim of a robbery attempt. The crime occurred close to a mixed-use industrial building he owns.

Nearly 40 years ago, Goode recruited Charles Thomas to come work for him at his framing shop, but at the time, neither men knew how much the relationship would develop.

"He gave one guy a TV, and next thing I know he came out with a package, and he unwrapped it and it was a briefcase. And when I looked at it, I was like, 'What the heck? I'm gonna go back to the hood with a briefcase?' Those are the little things I remember, and what he was really trying to say to me was, 'I want you to be a businessman,'" Thomas said.

Thomas says he was able to become a successful businessman, and he attributes it all to Goode.

"Whoever did this to him, I guarantee you, the karma is going to eat you alive, because that's how it works," Thomas said.

Family members describe Goode as an animal lover and an active community volunteer.

Tenants at the building close to where Goode was shot also have nothing but praise for him.

"Anytime something broke in our shop he would come fix it. He wouldn't even charge us," tenant Sadi Elayyan said.

Elayyan heard the gunshots on Saturday and comforted Goode during his last moments.

"I rushed over there and I held his hand," Elayyan said. "I wished this never happened."

Chicago Police have made no arrests in the case.

Funeral arrangements are still pending, but Goode's family has asked that donations be made to his favorite charity, the Chicago Animal Welfare League.

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