John Hanford Woodward Jr., dies at age 82
Born Dec. 31, 1940 at Newton, Mass. Died July 12, 2023 at Grants Pass, Ore.
John Woodward died from pulmonary failure on July 12, 2023 at Three Rivers Medical Center at age 82.
John was the son of John and Virginia Woodward (both deceased) of Norwalk, CT. He grew up in Norwalk, with his brother, David, and sister, Sarah. He graduated Boston University with degrees in Accounting and English. He worked for a time in his father’s financial business in New York City, married Laurie Ross, had sons Samuel and Timothy Woodward, in the late 1950s. He was a fine horseman and raised Morgan horses with Laurie.
He served in the U.S. Army in Korea in 1962.
He attended The Bennet Street School in Boston, Mass 1974-1976, mastering furniture design and craftsmanship. John worked for The Newman Studio as cabinet-maker 1976-1978. He then opened his own shop, Connecticut Yankee Restorations, as a furniture-maker and custom woodworking designer for 20 years. He restored many very old houses in Connecticut, duplicating trim and architectural details, and making period furniture for those homes. He specialized in Shaker and Duncan Phyfe styles of New England furniture.
During the 1970s, he was also active in the Clan Ramsay Society as a tent convenor at Scottish festivals and Highland Games held throughout New England. He wore his Ramsay red kilt with pride at the Games.
In 1995, he moved to Florida to be near his sister, Sarah, who had lung cancer, and became her caregiver. She died in 1997. John sold his houses in Florida, bought a 36-foot Bluebird motorhome and began visiting all of the U.S. National Parks, with a young Scottish Terrier named Hannah.
He visited Cave Junction, in search of his cousins, Doug Kendall and David Kendall, and often visited them during his travels around America.
In 2005, he worked at Rogue Valley Manor as a custodian and parked his Bluebird at the nearby campground on the Rogue River. He enjoyed fly fishing and golf in his free time.
He met Linda Corey in 2005 and began a long and loving relationship with her. She sold her Stockton, Calif. home, and together, they bought a farm house in Takilma, where they had horses, dogs and cats. They held a traditional Scottish Handfasting ceremony June 18, 2006 at their home and pledged their vows to each other. They did not get legally married due to financial reasons. Together, they built a comfortable, happy life in the Takilma community and enjoyed the southern Oregon Coast and exploring the rest of Oregon during the 18 years they lived there.
John’s life will be celebrated in the fall and his ashes will be scattered on their land and on Hope Mountain. John was much beloved in his community where he worked and volunteered for many years.