Henry Woodward Jr
Age - 92
July 18, 2023
In the early morning hours of July 5th, 2023, Henry Anthony Woodward Jr. , 92, of Hickory Creek, TX passed away in the intensive care unit with relatives at his side. Henry had been battling serious ailments for some time and surrendered his soul to the Lord on St. Anthony's Day. Henry, the youngest of 5 children, was born to Henry and Yvonne Woodward in Unionville, CT on February 16th, 1931. He grew up in that small, charming town along the Farmington River in rural Connecticut. He met his wife-to-be, Barbara Jean Petersen, in high school when she was just 15 years of age. They were engaged to be married when Barbara was a senior in high school, and wedded on July 28th, 1951, just after she graduated. They were a loving and beautiful couple who did everything together. They were just about to celebrate their 72nd wedding anniversary later this month. Their love for each other, family and friends were apparent in everything they did, always together. Hank, as he liked to be called, grew up during the depression and World War II. Hank did not have an easy life, but he was raised in a loving family. Every member had to contribute to the household, and he frequently told stories about his caddying double, along with other jobs to bring home money to help the family. Hank graduated high school, joined the Naval Reserves, and held several different jobs at Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Seven Up, Sears Roebuck and Company, and briefly opened his own painting and decorating center. The majority of Hank's career was at Sears in the service department from where he retired in 1996. Throughout his later working life and retirement years he and Barbara enjoyed many road trips and camping trips. They owned various campers and motorhomes over the course of many years, and always loved camping with family, friends, kids, and grandkids. They had many wonderful trips, mostly up and down the east coast. For their 50th wedding anniversary, they enjoyed an epic camping trip out west with Bill and his family. They eventually moved to Florida full-time to spend their retirement there with good friends, but in 2004 Hurricane Charlie ended that after just a short time by destroying their home. After Charlie, Barbara and Henry moved to Texas to be closer to Bill and his family and have lived here ever since. Hank had a way of connecting with people. He always wanted to get a reaction or a laugh out of everyone around him. His family, friends, waitresses, nurses, doctors, therapists and especially his grandkids. One of his best friends called him "the Catalyst", another "the Instigator. " He would always take the opposite side in a discussion, just to start something in a fun-loving way. Even if it was not his true point of view, he'd have a twinkle in his eye from the reaction he was fueling. Hank demonstrated true generosity and thoughtfulness, how to put others first, how to be a friend and confidant, how to bring up a family, how to work out differences, how to be there when someone needs you, how to laugh and cry, how to have faith in the face of personal challenges, and how to hope and pray and lead a good Catholic life. He lived a life full of positive examples for us all. He truly loved people and they him. Hank was preceded in death by his 4 siblings, Alice Crelan, Frank Woodward, James Woodward, and Josephine Hatala, and his parents Henry Woodward and Yvonne (Rice) Woodward. Hank is survived by his loving wife of nearly 72 years Barbara (Petersen) Woodward, his 3 sons, William, Mark, and Thomas, and their wives Diane (Marquis) Woodward, Amy (Bercow) Woodward, and Laurie (Moylan) Woodward, and 10 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. A memorial mass will be held at St. Mark's Catholic Church, 6500 Crawford Road, Argyle, Texas 76226 on July 29th, 2023, at 10:00 AM. In Lieu of flowers the family requests donations to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. https://www. stjude. org/ To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Henry Anthony Woodward Jr. , please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.Show more
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