June M. (Wilson) Woodcock

JUNE M. (WILSON) WOODCOCK
Our beloved Mom went to be with our Lord Jesus on June 23, 2022 at the age of 88. Survived by her Sisters: Ethel Eva Harbenski, and Jane Bell; Children: Sharon Sitler (Ed), Ronald Woodcock (Shari), Brian Woodcock, and Pamela Nabors (Chuck); Grandchildren: Heather, B. Joshua, Jedediah, Tessa, Jasmine, Chad, and April Joy; Great grandchildren: Gideon, Areli, Isanna, Alexandra, Josiah, Isaac, and Abraham James. Foster grandchild: Gavin Miller. Pre-deceased by her ex-husband Albert E. Woodcock. Memorial service to be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church July 31, 2022 at 5pm. A brief inurnment will be at Eusebia Cemetery August 1, 2022 at 10am. If sending flowers, yellow roses (her favorite) are preferred.

From her oldest daughter Sharon:
My Mom was a Survivor and one of eight siblings. My Mom raised four strong-willed, independent, different children and managed to have a good relationship with all of us. She taught us to be hardworkers, have good morals and the importance of honesty and integrity in our lives. Mom and I were opposite personalities and it wasn't until I was in my 30's, working on my Master's degree in Counseling, that we discovered this. She was a Thinker and I am a Feeler. We had some rough years. We finally started understanding each other, quit hurting each other, and our relationship greatly improved. We made up for lost years. We did a lot of birdwatching together, kept a Life List of every bird we saw and visited lots of Wildlife Refuges and Beaches. She gave all of her children a love of nature and appreciation for the great outdoors. She was born in Upper Penisula Michigan as potato farmers and lived a hard life. One of my brothers told me recently that one of her greatest fears was becoming poor again. I know another of her fears was not wanting to be a burden to anyone including her children. She was always good with money and became even more so after her divorce. She loved going up to the Upper Penisula in the summer but also had a love of the beaches in Florida and lived by one a good part of her life. One of our funniest birdwatching trips was when we both went sauntering onto a Nude Beach, by accident, with binoculars in hand! Boy were we embarrassed and we couldn't get out of there fast enough! We had a good laugh afterwards! Another of our trips, we were walking in a wetlands area with trails and out walks this 12-14 ft. alligator crossing over from one side to the other. I saw it and my Mom didn't. I kept whispering Mom, Mom...I finally got her attention and he got ours, so we slowly backed away. We sent the picture to Birds and Blooms magazine as a different kind of Bird watcher and had a good laugh later! She also gave several of her children and grandchildren her love of reading. She was always enriching her mind with a new book. She passed on her love of sewing and knitting to me as well as one of her Granddaughters. She made an Afghan or Quilt for each of her Great Granchildren until she couldn't see anymore to thread the needle. She was working on one when she died, that I will finish. It wasn't til later in life that she shared that she prayed for each of her children, grandchildren and great grandchild everyday by name, as well as her sisters. And, she asked me to continue this tradition as I have asked her oldest Granddaughter, Heather, to continue this tradition when I am gone. She was devoted to her children and even on her death bed she said "I don't wanna leave", like she was arguing with someone. Her 88th Birthday wish was that she wanted to get better (healed from her Stage 4 Cancer). She believed in Counseling. After her divorce, she got emotionally healthy and her relationships with her children greatly improved. She was a strong advocate of Al-Anon and considered an Icon in the local area. She had a lot of wisdom, discernment, a good listener, encourager, had a servant's heart. Her relationships breached age, color, continents. She was always doing for others. She was one of the first of her siblings to go to college, although she didn't complete it until many years later when her children were older. She taught me how to use the internet! She left a huge legacy and shoes that will be hard to fill. Even though she was 88 years old and I had 63 years with her, it still wasn't enough. I miss her, all her children do. I know she is in a better place with no pain and no suffering now. She hated asking others for help and being an imposition to anyone. Although in later years she really appreciated all that her son-in-laws did for her, and valued them more as sons. In her later years, when she needed more help from us, I would remind her; how many of my diapers did she change? And, she would laugh and it would be better. I know one day we will be together in Heaven, I look forward to that day. I also know the gates of Heaven were opened for her and she heard "Well Done Good and Faithful Servant!" I challenge each of you reading this to examine your lives and learn by her Godly example.

From Her Daughter Pam:
Reflection has made me realize our wonderful mom was a pioneer in her own right. Born in 1934, she grew up in the mid-West like Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House on the Prairie with no running water or electricity. The family farm of 40 acres, inherited through her mother’s great uncle, may have been part of the Homestead Act. Across the road from their farm was a well and hand pump they used for water in the summer, but in the winter they would hook their dog up to a sled and lug water (in large used milk jugs) from her Grandmother Middaugh’s property. Raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she really did walk home from school through two feet of snow. It would get so cold at night in the winter that a glass of water would freeze solid, so sometimes their dad would stay up all night keeping the coal fire going in the stove to keep the family warm. They would put hot irons at the foot of the bed to keep their feet warm and she frequently told the story of the girls’ bedding catching fire. She remembered a year when the snow came early and her mother stayed up all night sewing snowsuits for them. Sometimes the snow was higher than their house, but they could still open their door to get outside and play. The kids would crawl up the bank of snow that was so high they could touch the telephone wires.
Due to asthma, she stayed home a lot which eventually led to her love of reading. This opened up a whole new world to her and she decided when she was young that she did not want to stay in Cooks. She set off for new adventures when she was old enough. In her adult life, she migrated south along with two other siblings. They raised their kids in a warmer climate, fulfilling the proclamation of their father that some day they were going to load up the truck and move to Florida to get away from the cold winters.
As far as I know, she was the only one in her immediate family to earn a four year college degree. I was the youngest, so I got to go to college with her and play in the reflection pond at what was originally called Florida Technological University (FTU). The name changed to the University of Central Florida (UCF) by the time I started attending there in the mid-1980s. Mom was an older student, finishing up her medical technology coursework after having four children. She ended up teaching one of the courses the semester after she took it herself. After graduating, she began her prosperous career as a medical records administrator. Mom was the first medical records director in the state of Florida to switch their hospital records from paper files to digital records - not an easy accomplishment.
An avid reader, she was always eager to learn new things and continued her adventures by traveling frequently in her latter years. On a whim, she even hopped in the car and went with one of her grand-daughters to be filmed in an independent Christian movie. At about age 82, she moved to a different state and built a new house. Is that not a pioneer spirit?
She was a peaceful, productive pioneer. She liked her quiet time and classical music. Always a “do-er”, she applauded her youngest grand-daughter’s entrepreneurial spirit and even joined her by selling hand knit hats and scrubbies at the local Farmer’s Market. I find it fitting that the last place our beloved history buff told me she wanted to be buried ended up being a historical location. Eusebia Cemetery was one of the first in the area established in 1784 along the westward path of early pioneers.
Mom also loved birds, books, babies, beaches, and backyard wildlife. From Michigan to Florida to Tennessee, she was loved by many. She ran the race, fought the good fight, and kept the faith. More than all her educational and occupational accomplishments, she taught us to Love. She read her Bible daily and prayed for each of her children and grandchildren every day. We need more like her to pick up that important mission of spiritual protection and carry that legacy forward into the next generation.
Her age of 88 means double new beginnings. We can rest assured our wonderful mom passed on from this life to the next to be in Heaven for her greatest adventure yet.
Thank you for the team effort by all the family members that joined me to love and care for her to the very end. We did it out of Love because she first Loved us.