Bonnie “Hoppi” Goebert of Southampton and Delray Beach, Florida, died peacefully on June 3 at her home in Delray Beach after a four-month bout with lung cancer. She was 77.
Her partner of 17 years, Laurie Dietz, and her family were with her. She will be immeasurably missed by Laurie, her “Camp Hilltop” family, her goddaughter, Suzanne Haviland and grandchildren, Mirae and Thomas Haviland Swan.
She grew up in Valhalla, New York, and studied theater and dramatic arts at Chatham College for Women. Goebert was a resident of Southampton for over 40 years, as well as a longtime resident of Norwalk, Connecticut. She was a woman of the ages, with great vitality, humor, intellect and kindness, her survivors said. She was an ardent activist.
Goebert was successful in business. She founded the Bonnie Goebert Company, traveling worldwide as a leading focus group moderator and corporate strategist. The New York Times/International Herald Tribune was one of her many Fortune 500 clients. She co-authored the book “Beyond Listening, the Secret Language of Focus Groups,” detailing strategic lessons for successful moderating in qualitative work.
Goebert was charismatic, engaging and extremely generous, taking care of her mother, running “Camp Hilltop” with her friends, serving on community organizations, and finding the time to walk stray dogs at the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, her survivors said.
Goebert was extraordinary, they said, noting that, “All the good she brought to this world cannot be measured. May her radiant soul soar with the angels, and with all her loved ones who have greeted her on the other side.”
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Southampton Animal Shelter in Hampton Bays, New York.