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Obituary for Fred G. Woods
Fred G. Woods passed away peacefully Tuesday night August 8th 2017 at Peppi’s Place Hospice on the Tucson Medical Center campus after a brief illness. He was 90 years old.
Fred is survived by his wife Betty Lu (nee Sexton), sister Mary Bradley of Denver, CO; sons Mike of Tulsa, OK and James (Kathy) of Topeka, KS; daughters Martha of Tucson, AZ and Mary Beth of Phoenix, AZ; grandfather of Jackson, Rebecca, James, Matthew, Harrison, Alyssa, Chelsea and Marie as well as two great granddaughters, nieces Linda (Price) Berryman of Denver, CO and Lissa (Robert) Albertson of Clovis, CA.
Fred was born January 28, 1927 in the family home at Marysville, KS. At age 8 the Woods family moved to Topeka, KS, where his father, Dr. Harold Woods, started a medical radiology practice.
Fred graduated from Topeka High school in 1945. While still a senior in high school he qualified for enlistment in the Army Air Force. After training in Alabama and Wisconsin he was sent to Okinawa Japan. While in transit, the war with Japan ended.
Fred graduated from Kansas University with a degree in business. One of his college summers was spent working at Grand Lake lodge in Colorado. His first career job was with Gates Rubber Company in Denver. It was there that he met his wife of 64 years, Betty Lu Sexton of Rochelle, IL. She was employed as a stewardess with Frontier Airlines. The first of four children, Michael and Martha were both born in Denver.
In 1957, Fred took a new job in DeKalb, IL with General Electric. This move also allowed the family to be closer to Betty Lu’s parents, Jack & Trudee Sexton. James and Mary Beth were born in Rockford, IL. Ten years later there was a promotion at General Electric and a move to Brookfield, WI. Fred’s area of expertise was small electric motors, and he had customers throughout the Midwest. Several summers were spent by the Woods family on Big Green Lake, WI.
Fred & Betty Lu enjoyed travel and there were annual trips to his parent’s home in Topeka, often by train, as well as many trips to Betty Lu’s hometown of Rochelle, IL.
To say that Fred loved the mountains would be an understatement. Fred & Betty Lu returned to Colorado in the 1980’s, when they purchased a mountain cabin home in Bailey, CO. After retiring from GE in 1989, family and friends could often be found at the Woods cabin. Fred & Betty Lu loved garage sales, antique shopping, and collecting books. He had a passion for driving, and there were few roads in Colorado that Fred had not driven on.
Later on, after selling their Brookfield home, they purchased a winter home in Tucson, AZ. The family had a big celebration there in 2003 celebrating Fred and Betty Lu’s 50th wedding anniversary.
Fred and Betty Lu traveled extensively in later life. There were several trips to Europe, Ireland, Thailand, Costa Rica, and Hawaii to name a few. There was also the yearly visit to his Grandfather Woods’ family farm in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Fred was a member of the Elfun Society, GE Quarter Century Club, KU Alumni Society, and Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Fred also contributed to many charitable organizations.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Park County Historical Society, www.parkcountyhistory.com.
