FEB. 2, 2012:
Bob Woodall was a former resident of the Borough, living on Hemlock Road:
Robert Arden Woodall, 81, of Ligonier, went home to Jesus Friday, January 27, 2012. He was a resident of the Bethlen Home in Ligonier where he received care for Parkinson’s disease during the past five years. He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Barbara Ann Woodall; his son, Lawrence Arden Woodall; a daughter Victoria Gable and her children, Celeste and Caven, of Upper St. Clair, and a sister, Kay Gatchell and family, in Princeton, W. Va. Bob was born April 20, 1930, in Utica, N. Y., the son of the late J. Arden and Frances Woodall. He attended Loomis Boys School in Hartford, Conn., and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N. Y. After serving in the Air Force with the Pilotless Bomber Program in Cape Canaveral, Fla., he moved to Seattle, Wash., to study at the University of Washington where he earned a master of science degree in metallurgy. He worked at Boeing in Seattle, then Special Metals in Utica, N. Y., but spent most of his career at Latrobe Steel where he retired in 1991. He also taught statistics at Westmoreland Community College. Bob served on the council of Laurel Mountain Park as it transitioned into Laurel Mountain Borough. He was active with the Valley Players and the Ligonier Writer’s club. He enjoyed photography, poetry and was a ham radio and computer enthusiast. He was an active member of St. Michael’s of the Valley Church in Rector.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in St. Michael’s of the Valley Church with the Rev. Dr. James B. Simons officiating. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Snyder Funeral Home, Inc., 402 E. Church St., Ligonier. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Valley Youth Network, Parkinson’s disease research, or a charity of one’s choice.
To read some of Bob’s poems click on these links:
