1932
Jeanette
2015
Jeanette Woods Willoughby
September 13, 1932 — September 17, 2015
Beloved mother and grandmother, Jeanette Woods Willoughby passed away peacefully at her home in Lander, Wyoming September 17, 2015 of complications of Alzheimer's disease. She was 83. Funeral Services will be 10:00a.m., Tuesday, September 22, 2015 at the United Methodist Church in Lander. A burial to follow at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Jeanette was born September 13, 1932 in Waynesboro, Tennessee to Dexter L. and Margaret O'Leary Woods. The youngest of four children, she grew up in Waynesboro, a place she said was "so far back in the sticks they had to pipe the daylight in". After completing high school at Gulfport, Mississippi she attended Vanderbilt University where she met her husband, Bill whom she married on August 17, 1951.
Jeanette worked as a medical lab research technician on a clinical study of burn victims under Dr. James Hardy at the University of Tennessee at Memphis while her husband attended dental school there. She was proud of her work as part of the study and the contribution it made to improving the treatment of burn victims.
Jeanette and Bill lived in New Orleans before moving to Poplar, Montana then Fort Washakie, Wyoming before settling in Lander with their two children in 1958. After her youngest child began elementary school, Jeanette attended the University of Wyoming, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Mathematics. She began her teaching career at the former Morton school, commuting daily from Lander for two years, then taught science at Lander Valley High School until the family moved to Cheyenne in 1974. In Cheyenne she taught 9th grade physical science at Johnson Junior High until her retirement in 1989.
In retirement Jeanette volunteered at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum including participating in living history presentations. She and her husband returned to Lander following Bill's retirement in 1992 where Jeanette became an active member of the United Methodist Women and a regular volunteer as part of the Monday crew at the Lander Methodist Thrift Shop. Jeanette worked diligently as a member of the building committee to get the new Thrift Shop building planned, funded, and built.
Jeanette loved Wyoming and as a young woman enjoyed bird hunting and skiing with her family. She played Bridge, was a prolific knitter, avid reader, and a wonderful cook and baker. Most of all she loved being a grandma.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, William 'Bill' Willoughby, her parents and siblings. She is survived by her two children, William A. Willoughby and Julia Willoughby, son-in-law Jim Massman, two grandchildren, Lillian Clark of Laramie, WY and Greg Gilmer of Grand Forks, ND, and one great-grandson, Owen Clark, son of Lillian and her husband Erik Clark, as well as many nephews and nieces.
Donations may be mailed to Lander United Methodist Church Kitchen Fund, 262 North 3rd Street, Lander, WY82520.
Please sign online guestbook at www.HudsonsFuneralHome.com
Funeral Home:
Hudson's Funeral Home
680 Mount Hope Drive
Lander, WY
US 82520
Jeanette was born September 13, 1932 in Waynesboro, Tennessee to Dexter L. and Margaret O'Leary Woods. The youngest of four children, she grew up in Waynesboro, a place she said was "so far back in the sticks they had to pipe the daylight in". After completing high school at Gulfport, Mississippi she attended Vanderbilt University where she met her husband, Bill whom she married on August 17, 1951.
Jeanette worked as a medical lab research technician on a clinical study of burn victims under Dr. James Hardy at the University of Tennessee at Memphis while her husband attended dental school there. She was proud of her work as part of the study and the contribution it made to improving the treatment of burn victims.
Jeanette and Bill lived in New Orleans before moving to Poplar, Montana then Fort Washakie, Wyoming before settling in Lander with their two children in 1958. After her youngest child began elementary school, Jeanette attended the University of Wyoming, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Mathematics. She began her teaching career at the former Morton school, commuting daily from Lander for two years, then taught science at Lander Valley High School until the family moved to Cheyenne in 1974. In Cheyenne she taught 9th grade physical science at Johnson Junior High until her retirement in 1989.
In retirement Jeanette volunteered at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum including participating in living history presentations. She and her husband returned to Lander following Bill's retirement in 1992 where Jeanette became an active member of the United Methodist Women and a regular volunteer as part of the Monday crew at the Lander Methodist Thrift Shop. Jeanette worked diligently as a member of the building committee to get the new Thrift Shop building planned, funded, and built.
Jeanette loved Wyoming and as a young woman enjoyed bird hunting and skiing with her family. She played Bridge, was a prolific knitter, avid reader, and a wonderful cook and baker. Most of all she loved being a grandma.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, William 'Bill' Willoughby, her parents and siblings. She is survived by her two children, William A. Willoughby and Julia Willoughby, son-in-law Jim Massman, two grandchildren, Lillian Clark of Laramie, WY and Greg Gilmer of Grand Forks, ND, and one great-grandson, Owen Clark, son of Lillian and her husband Erik Clark, as well as many nephews and nieces.
Donations may be mailed to Lander United Methodist Church Kitchen Fund, 262 North 3rd Street, Lander, WY82520.
Please sign online guestbook at www.HudsonsFuneralHome.com
Funeral Home:
Hudson's Funeral Home
680 Mount Hope Drive
Lander, WY
US 82520
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Jeanette Woods Willoughby, please visit our flower store.
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