Bernard Goodman was the third of four children. His parents were Jacob Goodman and Annie (Hanreck) Goodman from Bethlehem in the Free State. Jacob came to South Africa from Bialystok in Poland. Bernard and his wife Eva (nee Lemkus) met whilst the Lemkus family were living in Harrismith  - also in the Free State. The shiduch was the idea of Eva's older sister, Amelia. Bernard and Eva lived in Vryburg from around 1935-1938 (possibly as late as 13939). Eva's parents, Sarah and Moshe, left Talsen Latvia and first settled in Vryburg. Bernard was a pharmacist and owned a local pharmacy. During their Vryburg sojourn, their daughter Jacqueline was born in 1935. Eva left Vryburg in 1937/1938 and divorced in Bernard.