Leslie Charles “Bud” Woods
Leslie Charles “Bud” Woods, age 70, of 700 South 16th, died Sunday, January 26, 2014 in his home. He was born on April 5, 1943 in Quincy the son of Norman and Thelma Jean (Crist) Woods. He married Margaret A. (Minor) Hays on October 14, 1992 in Las Vegas, NV. She survives. Mr. Woods was a self-employed barber and had been a truck driver for Sharkey Transportation until his retirement in 2005. Bud served in the United States Navy. He greatly enjoyed golfing and hunting. He loved his dogs, “Mar-T” and “Bubba”.
In addition to his wife he is also survived by:
FOUR CHILDREN: Michele Evans and her husband Alan of Wheatridge, CO; Janine Dyke and her husband Jim of Grand Junction, CO; Leslie Jacobs and her husband David of Grand Junction, CO; and Jessica Whiston and her husband Brad of Quincy.
FIVE STEP-CHILDREN; Randy Hays and his wife Cathy of Bowen, IL; Brian Hays and his wife Becky of Camp Point, IL; Tobey Hays of Quincy, Darin Hays and his wife Dana of Lovington, IL and Lindsay Schreacke and her husband Duane of Basco, IL
26 GRANDCHILDREN, 16 GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN
along with a
BROTHER: Ernie Woods and his wife Betty of Quincy and
THREE SISTERS: Carol Smith, Winnie Nick and Linda Speer all of Quincy
Numerous Nieces, nephews and other relatives also survive.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Graveside services will be held on Friday, January 31, 2014 at 10:00 AM in the Quincy Memorial Park Mausoleum Chapel with military rites. There is no visitation but friends are invited to the services. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society. The Duker & Haugh Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Leslie “Bud” Charles Woods has died from complications of a service-connected condition of lung cancer. Although he was a chain smoker, the VA attributed his lung cancer to his ionized radiation exposure that he received as a participant in atomic testing in Operation Dominic I in the South Pacific in 1962. The type of lung cancer was differentiated by his doctors as being the large cell type which is common and almost unique to ionized radiation exposure, as opposed to the small cell type of lung cancer commonly associated with smoking.
He died on 26 Jan 2014 and was buried last Friday in Quincy, IL with military honors. He was 70 years old. His ship was the U.S.S. Forster which was a forward operating radar picket ship tasked with the safety of ensuring that all other ships were not in the detonation zones, and also tasked with the recovery of the test instrument equipment floating on test pod rafts. Project Dominic I had 36 atomic bombs detonated. His ship was so radiated that the Navy allowed it to be captured by the North Vietnamese as a weapon so that they would get radiated. The ship is still giving off radiation to this day is in Hanoi today being used as a Vietnamese training ship for their Navy. He was the last of his shipmates to die from ionized radiation exposure as all others have died from radiation. I was privileged to have shared some of his military stories with him, and am proud that I was able to assist him in getting his Veteran Benefits for his service and his widow Margie.
Bud served his country and his family with honor. He was a good Dad and husband. He always thought of their needs first and provided for them. He was the cornerstone of his family often serving as the mediator and peacemaker in his family during times of family crisis.
He was what I call a “scrapper”. He was a fighter and always fought for what he believed in and never gave up even though most of his life the circumstances of life were always against him. He never minced words and always told you how he felt about things no matter how blunt his words or the truth was. He never tried to impress anyone and you could always take him at face value as he was always as good as his word. He was by definition, a man of honor.
He was a Barber and gave me the best haircut I ever had. Camp Point, IL will always miss him, and he is simply known there as “Bud the Barber”. But he was a truck driver too. And like life itself he was never afraid to point me the way down the best roads in life to the best way home, because he knew those roads well, as he had been there so many times before.
He was always there for me and Michele. One night I called him at 2:30 in the morning from Hannibal and asked him if I could stay with him for Thanksgiving. Instead of being upset for waking him and Margie up, he welcomed me with open arms. He tried to make Michele and I comfortable during our stay in his home. One summer, just like Lampoon’s Christmas vacation, he installed a window air conditioner in the upstairs room. I shall never forget the time I tried to adjust that AC and the AC starting flying out the window onto the roof nearly taking me and the lampshade that it was plug into with it. The AC hit the roof with a thud, and Bud was on the Back porch, and he commented, “What was that noise?” Margie replied, “Oh, it was just the kids playing in the neighborhood at night.” It was really comical as it was dangerous. Because of Bud and Margie I don’t think I would ever had the excuse and privelage to get to know a part of the country and its people that I otherwise would not have known.
There is something to be said about his widow Margie. She served Bud well with great service and honor. She was a good trooper by allowing him and going on with his retirement dreams. She helped him with refurbishing the house on Rock Quarry Road and building of his fish pond. She went along with his desire to purchase an RV and stay a couple of winters down South. And she diligently served him with his care during his final months.
I shall always cherish Bud, his words of wisdom, and keep him living on in my memories.
-Allan V. Evans and Michele
Leslie and family – im so sorry for you loss i love you all and miss you dearly:)
Margie, Randy, Brian and Tobey, I am so sorry to hear about Bud, please know that my most heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with you and your families. Bud is a good man and loved you all so much. I am especially grateful to all of you for allowing me to be a part of your lives at a very impressionable time in my life. Your families always welcomed me into your homes as if I was your own, and for that I am forever thankful. I have so many wonderful memories and will never forget what a great time Bud had when Randy taught me the importance of having a steering wheel to properly drive a car. Bud teased me for weeks over that one and the memory still brings a smile to my face. Your friend, Scott
Jessica and all: My prayers and blessings go out to you at this difficult time.
I remember the long mornings we would spend in Bud’s parlor. The jokes he would tell and play on us youngsters. He will be missed!
My thoughts and prayers are with your family in this sad time. Bud was a great man and I will cherish the memories I have of him.