August 13, 1922 - April 23, 2019
John Woodward died peacefully in Vernon on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at the age of 96 years.
John was predeceased by his wife Leone, his brother Frank, sisters Gwen and Dorothea and grandson Aaron.
He is survived by his daughter Lenna (Ernie) Bojda, son Hector (Barb) Denton, daughter Frances Woodward and daughter Donna (Brenda) Woodward, Grandsons Adam (Dianne) Clark, Shawn (Meaghan) McCarron, Bradley (Jennifer) Denton; Granddaughters Christine (Jhonny) Denton and Jordan (Gavin) Lawrence; Great Grandchildren Shaylen, Tristan, Quentin, Andrew, Grace, Brenna, Alex, Mitchell and Molly. He is also survived by his ex-wife and dear friend Doris Alcantara and her daughter Sofia.
John was born into two pioneering families in Port Alberni on August 13, 1922. The family moved to Little Fort in 1925 where John and his siblings worked on their fathers farm. Besides farming, John also worked as a hunting and fishing guide until he married in 1949. He drove logging truck and worked at the lumber mill in Blue River until he was hired by Alberta Gas Trunk Line in 1961 and the family moved to Edson, Alberta. Although not educated, he was smart and a bit of a Renaissance man in that he knew how to build and repair almost anything.
After a move to Calgary in 1965, he quickly rose within the company and became the Chief of Construction, overseeing the building of many pipelines and compressor stations throughout southern Alberta until he retired in 1961. After retiring, John and Leone enjoyed working on their small acreage in Little Fort where they raised a few beef cattle and a huge garden. After Leone died in 1993, he moved to a small acreage in Armstrong where he raised a few beef cattle, boarded horses and built two ponds for raising rainbow trout.
In 2005, he moved to Kamloops where he grew a fabulous garden and enjoyed spending time with his family. In May 2018, he suffered a fall while planting his garden and sustained a serious brain injury. After a slow decline in health he was transferred to Heron Grove Complex Care Unit in Vernon in February, 2019, where he died peacefully on April 23, 2019, surrounded by his loved ones. John loved his family and family get together and often stated how lucky and blessed he was to have a large, close and loving family.
A funeral service will be held on May 11, 2019 at 1:00 at the First Memorial Funeral Chapel, 177 Tranquille Rd. North Kamloops, reception to follow. Interment will follow at the Little Fort Cemetery at 4:30.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a donation to Heron Grove Complex Care in Vernon.
