Jim D. Woods, a Mountain Grove native, passed away last winter at the age of 78. Jim was born on May 14, 1942. After graduating from Mountain Grove High School in 1960, he would move to Wichita, Kan. It was in Wichita where he met his future wife, Billie, and the two married on July 1, 1962. They would be married for 58 years. In 1969, Jim joined the Wichita Fire Department and would faithfully serve for 30 years until his retirement. During that same period, he owned and operated Professional Exterminating. Outside of his professional endeavors, Jim had great enthusiasm for traveling, as he and Billie visited nearly every U.S. state over the course of their marriage. He was also an avid outdoorsman, enjoying quail and pheasant hunting every season for many years. Jim will perhaps be best remembered for his ornery sense of humor, especially by his grandchildren, as they recall how he would assign them the chore of picking up sticks in the yard during visits, testing them on the different cow breeds during road trips, or being kicked out of his favorite recliner while watching cartoons. Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Billie Woods; his parents, Brown Woods and Georgia Woods; his brother, Van Woods; and his sisters, Sue Christian and Joanne Jackson. He is survived by his brothers, Darrell Woods, Ken Woods and Jerry Woods; his sisters, Phyllis Gery, Kay Tubach and Sharon Lafoe; his son, Christopher Woods (Cindy); his daughter, Lori Woods-McEvoy; his grandsons, Sam Crowell (Sarah) and Max Crowell (Rachel); his granddaughters, Sydney Zerener (Brock) and Alexandria Woods; and many other loving members of his family including cousins, nephews and nieces. A memorial service will be on Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 12 p.m. at Denlow Church in Mountain Grove.
