In 1960, when Glen Goobie was fifteen, his father's untimely passing precipitated an uncertain future for him and left a void of fatherly advice and direction for his future. Glen’s father was the breadwinner of the family, and his mother now had a big decision to make in order to provide for her family and for the children to complete their education. She decided to relocate from their small community to St. John's and seek employment. Glen felt at odds living in a city but managed to fit in and complete high school. After graduation, he found employment at a low-paying job for a few years. Having the will to push forward, he secured a better-paying job that he didn’t much like.
As luck would have it, making more money, along with his work location, caused a pent-up sense of adventure to kick in. A year or so later, Glen found himself behind the controls of an airplane, which had never crossed his mind before, when he would daydream about where his life and career might take him. Bush flying and water bombing would take him all over Newfoundland and Labrador, across Canada, and parts of the United States over the duration of his career. During thousands of flying hours over a forty-year career and more, there were many unplanned adventures and surprises. Close calls were also part of the job, including a "night mercy mission" in the vast wilderness of Northern Ontario to locate and save the life of a pilot who had crashed his plane earlier that evening. Glen Goobie's close calls were interspersed with good times, great friends, and many humourous incidents and stories along the way.

Glen was born in Queen’s Cove, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1945 and graduated from high school in St. John’s at Booth Memorial High in 1962.His early working days included working for the provincial government doing road surveys in many parts of the province, including communities not yet connected by road. He then went on to Churchill Falls, Labrador, during the initial start-up of the Churchill Falls Hydro Project, where he again did survey work, which included hydrometric surveys on the lakes that were part of the hydro development. It was during his trips out to the lakes in a bush plane his interest in flying grew. Glen’s flying training was completed in Moncton, New Brunswick, and his flying career took him to Northern Ontario for a couple of years, and then upon his return back to Newfoundland, he flew with Newfoundland Air Transport, Gander Aviation, and the provincial government’s water bombers until his retirement.Glen is married to Helen (née Gosse) of Gander, where they currently reside. They have two adult children, a daughter, Heather, and a son, Chad.

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