Everyone at Cowsmo would like to send their sincerest wishes to the family and friends of Jeff “Woody” Woods.
Jeffrey Alan “Woody” Woods, 61, of Ottawa, Kansas, unexpectedly passed away March 11, 2022.
Jeffrey was born January 29, 1961, in Ottawa, the son of Bill and Linda Woods. He was a true Kansan from the start as he was born on the 100th anniversary of Kansas (a birthday he would later share with TWO of his grandkids). He was raised on a dairy farm where he developed a love for cows and a hard work ethic which he used throughout his life on many endeavors including 4-H, cattle judging teams, and dairy science club.
Jeff graduated from Ottawa High School in 1979. During his four years he played football, basketball, baseball and ran track. He attended Kansas State University where he pursued a degree in Animal Science. While attending K-State, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, the dairy judging team, agriculture student council and the dairy science club. He graduated in May of 1983 and was the first person in his family to graduate from college.
Following graduation, he took a dairy specialist position with Kabsu in Manhattan for two years before moving to D.C. for a position with Decker North America. He worked for Decker 10 years, which took him and his family from D.C. to Madison, Wisconsin. He founded WW Associates in 1995 and was self-employed until his last day. WW Associates was a successful agriculture exporting company who sold semen, embryos and live cattle to more than 20 countries around the world. Jeff was a member of the National Holstein Association for over 40 years, judged many county fairs, and participated in the World Dairy Expo for many years.
Jeff was married to Jennifer (Jeffery) Woods on May 24, 1986. Their 25-year marriage produced Jeff’s biggest accomplishment and truest joy which were their five children: McKenzie, Drew, Mallory, Jessie and Grant. They lived in Madison for 23 years. After his divorce, Jeff relocated back to Ottawa, Kansas to be near family, which is where he resided at the time of his death.
Jeff was a sports enthusiast from day one. He could often be found playing pick up basketball over lunch, playing catch with his sons, or driveway basketball with his daughters. When he wasn’t traveling, he would be found in the stands of every one of his kids’ games and activities.
Jeff is survived by his five children: McKenzie (Tyler) Petrie, Drew Woods, Mallory (Kris) Boucher, Jessie Woods and Grant Woods; 4 grandchildren: Jack, Luke, Cole Petrie and Madison Boucher; his parents: Bill and Linda Woods; and his sisters: Betsy (Mark) McCrea and Robynn (Cindy) Woods.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Friday, March 18, 2022, at Dengel & Son Mortuary, Ottawa.
Family will meet with friends from 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M., March 17th, at the mortuary.
Private family inurnment will be held later at Evergreen Mound Cemetery, Ottawa.
The family’s wishes are that any memorial donations will be used to establish a college fund for Jeff’s youngest son, Grant. Jeff found great pride in providing for all his kids and would be saddened to have missed the opportunity to do the same for Grant. Donations can be made payable to McKenzie Petrie,
c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, Kansas 66067.