Obituary of William Woods

Woods ~ William James "Jim" Woods passed away peacefully at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at the age of 78 years. A celebration of life was conducted from the Wild Rose Pavilion, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Thursday, December 10, 2009 with Joyce Carson officiating. Interment will be held at a later day at Marshall Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the arrangements. Jim is lovingly survived by his wife of 50 years, Pat of Marshall, and son, Bill and Janice Woods of Lloydminster; three sisters: Edna and Joe Mauer, Evelyn Hourie, Alice and Marlin Swan; seven brothers: John and Laura Woods, Russell and Elaine Woods, Harvey and Florence Woods, Chuck and Rose Woods, Lloyd and Elma Woods, Donald and Pat Woods, and Allan and Ellie Woods, as well as numerous other relatives. Jim was predeceased by his son Shaun in 1998, as well as his sister Mary Cole, and his parents Robert and Lil Woods. Jim's Eulogy: Jim was born on November 29, 1931 on a farm near Pathlow, Saskatchewan. He was the fifth of twelve children. Life on the farm was difficult for the large family, as there was little to go around. Jim proved himself to be a hard worker on the farm and that would continue throughout his life. After attending country school, Jim joined a Sask Power construction crew. This was during the era of power lines being built to rural areas. His days consisted of a lot of lugging, walking, climbing poles, stringing the new lines, and tying them in. Jim went on to work for Sask Power until his retirement in 1987 after 36 years of service. He enjoyed the people, and the work, minus the rainy days. He made climbing poles look like the easiest thing in the world, but hated ladders with a passion. After retiring from Sask Power, Jim kept busy with a variety of new careers. These included hauling fuel to the upgrader construction site, testing gas wells, and bottling and delivering water for his niece, Debbie. Each fall he would go to Choiceland to help his friend Lorne harvest. Jim was so helpful, that he managed to assist Lorne in getting a new grain truck, after he started the one he was driving on fire. Jim was very family oriented and very generous with his support to his whole family, which was a trait that never changed. Two of his brothers lived with him in Marshall while attending high school. He also paid to have power lines brought into the family farm. There was always room in his home, food on the table and a little cash to get you by. Jim was community - minded and loved living in Marshall. He was often found flooding the ice at the Mini Rink and mowing or lining the ball diamond. In later years he spent many hours mowing or trimming at the Marshall Cemetery, it became a labor of love for both Jim and Pat. He was so excited this past summer when the cemetery purchases a new front deck riding mower. He will be missed by our Community. Bill and Shaun were his pride and joy; he was a great Dad. He loved to spoil his boys, who grew up with both a trampoline and a swimming pool. He loved to be a part of whatever they were involved in, and took a special interest in their friends. Jim enjoyed coaching hockey, T'Ball and Fast Ball when the boys were young, and made several miles taking them to their sporting events. He enjoyed teaching the boys useful life skills, such as hunting, fishing, and of course the art of climbing power poles. Against his better judgment, Bill, Shaun and Pat eventually convinced him to try downhill skiing. He never said he enjoyed it, but he was a really good sport about giving it a try. Bill always looked to his Dad for advice. Just last week, Bill was replacing fan light in his house for a chandelier. After it was all wired in, he hit the switch and the light didn't come on. After much swearing and frustration, he called his dad. Without skipping a beat, Jim asked, "well did you wire the light to the fan switch?" Bill hit the fan switch and sure enough the light came on. Jim always enjoyed going to the cabin that he built with his father-in-law, at Loon Lake. Jim was not overly fond of water, but he did enjoy taking the kids fishing or water skiing. The rule was, 'you catch it, you clean it, you eat it." Most of his nieces and nephews admit now that they never did like fish. As for water skiing, the only way he found to catch a break from the action was to light his pipe and declare a bathroom break. When Bill married Janice, he was over the moon to have a daughter. "Jimbo", as she called him, was so proud of her, and they had their own way of teasing each other. One summer Janice, Bill, Uncle Lorne and Jimbo went fishing. Jimbo caught a perch every cast while the others caught none. Bill and Janice changed their hooks several times, while Jimbo proudly kept track of how many he had caught. When he hit 58 Janice could not stand the teasing anymore and jumped in the water to chase the fish away from his hook. It put an end to his catching streak, but it didn't stop the bragging. In recent years, Jim slowed-down his pace and enjoyed his days watching Rider's games, baby-sitting Bill's dog, and reading his extensive collection of western novels. He also enjoyed taking on some light woodworking projects. After receiving a wood lathe for Christmas one year, he became known as "bat man" as he built hundreds of fish bats and gave them away to family and friends. Bill's stag was a weekend fishing trip and Jim made sure he brought more than enough fish bats for everyone. As one of the groomsmen said, "he really wanted us to beat the hell out of those fish." Jim was a friend to many and will be sadly missed by his family and friends. Cards of Thanks: The family of Jim Woods would like to thank family and friend for cards, flowers, donation, visits, phone calls and food brought to the house. Also, to those who attended the service, many traveling a great distance. Thank-you to Dr. Fourie, Dr. Kostic, as well as nurses and staff at the Lloydminster Hospital. Thank-you to Joyce Carson for conducting the service, and to Dr. Craig Oster for reading the eulogy prepared by the family. Thank-you to Glenn and Dave McCaw and the staff of McCaw Funeral Service. Your compassion, love and support are appreciated beyond words. Thanks to all. Pat, Bill and Janice Woods Donations in memory of Jim may be made to the Marshall Rec Board or to a charity of the donors choice.