Camp Rockmont is saddened to share news of the passing of Rockmont alumnus Albert S. “Al” Gooch, Jr. of Flat Rock, NC.
Al spent his life in service to institutions and communities he loved. For 23 years he worked at the University of the South (Sewanee), where as Director of Admissions he welcomed generations of students to “the Mountain.” He then served 22 years as the eighth president of the Kanuga Conference Center (1983–2005), where his vision and hospitality helped shape Kanuga into the year-round home for renewal it is today.
Closer to home, Al gave decades of service to Flat Rock and Henderson County: two terms on Flat Rock Village Council, six years as president of the Flat Rock Playhouse, and leadership roles with the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Christ School, the NC Arts Council, and Hendersonville Rotary. Later in life, he worked as a fundraising consultant across the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, including projects for the Archbishop of Canterbury, and chaired the Moldova World Children’s Fund.
Al often said, “There’s no end to what can be done with imagination and energy” — a philosophy he lived out with warmth, humor, and an open door for everyone he met.
We hold his wife Jeannie, his children Alyson and Albert III (“Tres”), and their whole family in our thoughts.
Read more about Al’s life and legacy:
