OBITUARY John Ernest Woodward April 23, 1945 – October 25, 2018 Play Tribute Movie John Ernest Woodward was known as many things to many people. He was a father to all and a stranger to none. He was a loving and devoted son, a husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend.
His huge hugs and his gentle, caring heart were a gift to many. Those of us who were lucky enough to know him are forever impacted by his deep, abiding love for Christ, his heavenly Father. He was always generous with his time, his talents and his res, knowing that every good gift he had was given to him by God.
He loved God without abandon and was ever willing to share his Jesus with any who asked. His deep desire was that all would know that God is real and that He is good all the time. There is no place that he would rather be than where he is today, singing praise to the Lord and celebrating with the saints in his new, healed, healthy and unbroken body at the feet of his one and only Savior.
John was the son of Edward Arthur Woodward and Madelyn Ruby Woodward. He was a proud Colorado native and he grew up in the Westwood neighborhood of Denver. He grew up in a small frame house with a big yard, bounded by a rock wall on Kentucky Avenue in a time when Mr. and Mrs. Jensen owned all of the farmland surrounding them.
John share many fond memories of growing up there with his family, his dogs and his lifelong friend, Chuck. John had an older step brother and sister, Edward V. Lenihan and Beverly Crook. Although they were both much older than him, they along with their spouses, Don Crook and Mary Ann Lenihan, loved Little Johnny from the time he was born.
John spent his teenage years along with his dad, caring for his mother Madelyn in their home as she fought cancer until her death in 1966. His dad worked for the Colorado and Southern Railroad where he worked the night shift and nursed Madelyn during the day, leaving her in the care of her son during the night hours. She passed away in their home when John was just fifteen.
This experience was one of the hardest John faced and it profoundly affected him over the years. He never got over having lost his mother so young and made sure to pass on his stories and memories of her to his children and grandchildren. John and his wife, Barb remained close to his dad and cared for him in their home until he passed away in 1983.
John graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1963, alongside his future bride Barbara. When he was not up to his elbows in axle grease, engine oil and gasoline, he spent his time cruising in his ‘51 Mercury and hanging out at the Frosted Scotchmen, the Copper Penny and the local A&W. On May 1, 1965 John exchanged wedding vows with his high school sweetheart, Barbara Joyce Yotter at Garden Home Community Church of Denver, Colorado.
They began their own family with the births of their three children, Michael John, Jill Marie and Lisa Raeanne. John worked hard to provide for his family and his home was filled with love, laughter and the love of God. The gift of nine grandchildren, Heather, Madeleine, Luke, John-Christian, Jeffrey, Emily, Nathan, Christopher and Kristin, was one he treasured throughout his life.
He doted on his grandkids and loved the title of Grandpa. He had special nicknames for each of them as well as songs that he made up about them and sang them out loud whenever he could to anyone who would listen! He was also thought of as a second dad the countless friends who paraded through the lives of his children and even his grandchildren!
There was never a shortage of time or love where he was concerned. John was also anxiously awaiting the birth of his first great-grandchild, Emmit Reese who is slated to make an appearance in early January. Emmit will have his own very special guardian angel watching over him from the streets of glory.
Always considered a good friend to those he knew, John enjoyed a broad group of acquaintances and several very close friends during his lifetime. While growing up, one of his best friends was Butch Gray who lived next door to John from their early years. This is a most cherished friend with whom he has created mountains of memories with over a lasting friendship of 68 years.
Throughout their lives he and Barbara made so many treasured friendships, starting at Garden Home Community Church. This church first taught him that Christ desires for his children is to create lasting community as many there became his very dear family. This picture of Christ bringing together family continued through friendships made at Jesus Center School, Christian Fellowship Church and School and New Hope Ministries.
Fortunately, John enjoyed what he did for a living. Showing a strong work ethic, John worked diligently and did his best to succeed in his career. He was employed for 30 years at the Department of Energy Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Facility before retiring in 1997.
His primary occupation was working as an Experimental Operator and Radiation Monitor. During his time at at Rocky Flats John was a union representative for the United Steelworkers Union, representing his fellow workers to management and he maintained a very high level of integrity and competence in that role. Prior to his time at Rocky Flats, John spent time working as a machinist at the Colorado and Southern Railroad, where his dad also worked.
Together they worked on the same trains and in the same railyards on the night shift. John enjoyed his leisure time by taking part in various hobbies. His favorite pursuits were spending time with his family and friends, 4 wheeling in his revered Jeeps and camping in the majestic Colorado mountains any and every time he had a chance.
He loved working on cars with Butch, his dad Ed, his son Mike and his grandkids. He took pride in knowing everything he could about classic cars, trains and every last jeeping trail, old mine and ghost town in the Colorado mountains and he passed the love for each down to his kids and grandkids,. John was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed following his favorite events whenever he had the chance to do so.
Tops on his list were the Denver Broncos football team. He also loved his Southwest Patriots soccer team whom he coached for a number of years. And you could find John at just about every Jesus Center Eagles game throughout the years as his kids participate in sports year round.
John’s Christian faith was of utmost importance to him. He first began attending Garden Home Community Church as a young boy. He would often tell his children of his Sunday School days and being kept in line by our treasured Grandma Ruth’s while running around the halls of the small church.
After he and Barbara were married, they began attending Garden Home and became active members where he served as an elder for many years. This church and his church family became their primary community, and it is where his children recall spending all of their childhood years running the same halls and also being kept in line and loved by Grandma Ruth and Grandma Rickey. The extended family that was created in this first church home remains today with many long standing relationships that we all continue to enjoy and rely on.
After losing Pastor Bill Thompson, John and Barbara joined Christian Fellowship Church where they were active in serving the church even after it changed to New Hope Church. He joined the Four Square denomination where he became an associate pastor at New Hope Church, serving faithfully through his time there. John and Barbara served faithfully in their church communities as Cleansing Streams leaders, regular hosts for their Wednesday night home groups for many years, community outreach projects, and by never having a closed door.
There was never a time when their dinner table wasn’t open to whoever happened to stop by looking for a meal. John enjoyed traveling and time away on vacations. It was a chance for him to renew and relax, to visit new places and experience new things.
Favorite vacations included camping in the mountains, Glenwood Springs vacations with his family, numerous road trips to Iowa and Missouri to connect with family, and yearly trips to the Tulsa, Oklahoma for national competitions at Oral Roberts University to support and mentor his kids and their fellow students from Jesus Center School. These trips were special memories and to hear him, Butch and Loreen tell stories of their time at ORU often convinced the listener that they had way more fun than the kids. He and Barbara also enjoyed a long dreamed of road trip to the west coast where they traveled down the coast visiting family from Washington to California.
John was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of the favorites John would fondly recall was his German Shepard, Snooker. Over the years his little red Annie delighted him as well as a stray Dalmation named Bandit who showed up one evening with Loreen Thompson, looking for a home to love her.
John passed away on October 25, 2018 at the age of 73 at his home in Denver, Colorado after bravely enduring numerous very grave health problems and constant, debilitating pain over his last years. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Joyce, children Michael John Woodward and his wife LouAnn, Jill Marie Maheu, Lisa Raeanne Peeples and her husband David: his grandchildren are Heather Couturier and husband Tyler, Madeleine Kleppinger and husband John, Luke Woodward, John Christian Maheu, Jeffrey Maheu, Emily Woodward, Nathan Peeples, Christopher Peeples and Kristin Maheu. His first great grandchild, Emmit Reese is expected to arrive in January.
Services will be held November 1, 2018, 11:00am at the Olinger Crown Hill Reflection chapel. John will be laid to rest near his beloved father Edward and his mother Madelyn and his grandparents in Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Simply stated, John was a good and kind person, an individual who will for all time be remembered by his family and friends as being a caring and giving person, someone who was a vital part of their lives.
John leaves behind him a legacy of a loving, strong family, life-long friendships, diligence and integrity as well as many, many cherished memories. Everyone whose life he touched will always remember John Ernest Woodward.
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