Charles L. Woodford, 81, a resident of Long Grove, Iowa died on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at the Clarissa Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf after a brief battle with lymphoma.
A service to celebrate his life will be held at 4:00 P.M. on Friday, November 25th at the McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Chapel in Bettendorf. The family will greet friends from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. Friday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Princeton Presbyterian Church, “Run with Carl” or the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
He was born in Davenport, Iowa on September 11, 1930 to Carl K. & Myrtle E. (Baugh) Woodford and raised on a farm north of Davenport all of his formative years. Charles moved to California in the 1950’s for a few years, and then returned to spend the rest of his life in the North Scott area which he enjoyed so much. On June 16, 1951, he married the love of his life, Shirley J. Hartley in Davenport.
He had a life-long hobby of competitive pistol shooting. Charles was able to attain 3rd High Civilian in the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, became part of the Iowa National Team Champions, placed 8th in the NRA National Outdoor Championships and 6th at the NRA Indoor Championships. In later years, he took up Cowboy Action Shooting and repeated as an Iowa Champion over a number of years in his age group.
He retired from the Rock Island Arsenal after many years of service and formerly worked for the J. I. Case Company of Bettendorf for over 16 years. During his life, he thoroughly enjoyed farming in the North Scott area for a great number of years. In earlier years, Charlie raised honey bees and sold honey. His favorite hobby & source of pleasure was demonstrating his apple cider press at the Mississippi Valley Fair, Eisenhower School for the children, the Don Nagle Pioneer Village and the Botanical Center in Rock Island, Illinois. For over 25 years, he enjoyed running the Bix 7 Road Race and won various trophies & medals running the Bix and the annual “Run with Carl” on Labor Day.
His memberships included the Princeton Presbyterian Church, Scott County Iowa Pioneer Settlers Descendents, the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) and the National Rifle Association where he was a Life-Member.
Those left to honor his memory include his beloved wife, Shirley; his daughter, Nancy Woodford of Cedar Falls, Iowa; his son, Mark (Vicki) Woodford of Grand Mound, Iowa; his grandchildren & great-grandchildren, Jason (Heidi) Woodford & their children, Nickolas, Bryant & Courtney; Jeremy (Carrie) Woodford & their children, Alexus, Alyssa & Logan; Adam (Erica) Wehr & their son, Charlie; and Julie Wehr; his brothers, Laurence “Bud” (Mary) Woodford of Taft, Tennessee, Bruce (Susan) Woodford of Princeton, Iowa; and Alan (Sherry) Woodford of Stratford, Missouri; along with many other relatives and wonderful friends.
Charlie was preceded in death by his parents.
