Obituary
Alfred Eugene Goossens, 86 of Keswick, Virginia died at home on January 22, 2026.
Born on February 4, 1939 in Tegelen, The Netherlands, he was the son of George VH Goossens and Geraldine (Russel) Goossens. He was preceded in death by both of his parents, his sisters, Therese
(Goossens) Fillo, Marie Louise (Goossens) Kurstjen and a brother, Jan Pieter Goossens.
After graduating from Deventer State College (The Netherlands) in 1962 with a B Sc degree in Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture, he trained and became a Flavorist for a Dutch company in South Africa. In 1968 he immigrated to the United States and continued his career in Flavor Creation. In 1976, he joined International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) as Director of Flavor Creation. He went on to hold management positions in technical, commercial and senior management as Vice President Asia Pacific. Alfred and his wife and daughter lived in Indonesia, The Netherlands, Hong Kong and Singapore from 1986 until returning to the US in 1998.
Alfred was a certified member, board member and Past President of the Society of Flavor Chemists. He was the library committee chairman after he retired. He founded his consulting company, Flavorful Solutions adding his expertise to major corporations.
In retirement, Alfred and his wife moved to Central Virginia where he became a Certified Virginia Master Naturalist in the Old Rag and Rivanna Chapters. He was most proud of the work he accomplished on the Socrates Project (poisonous plants), the Cleopatra Project (poisonous animals) and most recently, the
Claudius Project (poisonous mushrooms), the latter two in conjunction with The University of Virginia.
Alfred is survived by his wife, Valerie (Mangin) Goossens, Keswick; daughter Krista M Goossens-Donnoe and son-in-law Kelly Donnoe of Saugerties, NY; sister Rosemarijn (Goossens) Sleven, The Netherlands; brother George Goossens, The Netherlands; sister & brother-in-law, Karen (Mangin) Hatton and Edward
Hatton, Ardmore, PA; and a number of nieces and nephews both in The Netherlands and Pennsylvania.
A special thank you to his care team from Hospice of the Piedmont who took such loving care of Alfred during the past 7 months. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300, Charlottesville,VA 22911.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.abettercremation.org.
