Obituary of Ruth G. Woodard

Mrs. Ruth Greene Woodard, 98, of Woodland Springs Trail, Boone, died Tuesday night, Dec. 2. She was an active, passionate woman full of life, who laughed, danced, studied, joked, and prayed. Born June 22, 1916, in Dothan, Alabama, Ruth was the youngest child of the late George Edward Greene and Osie Odell Scruggs Greene. She grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and despite a difficult childhood of poverty, with six siblings and a father who was absent from the home much of the time, she graduated from Hume-Fogg High School at the age of 15. She turned down a full scholarship to Peabody College in order to work to support her family. Hired at age 16 as a clerk at May Hosiery Mills in Nashville, she worked there for 20 years, becoming office manager and secretary to company president Dan May. She had excelled in accounting work and was the first woman to be invited to join the professional accountants' association in Nashville. She married Lasseter Woodard in 1938 and traveled the world, living in Hawaii (1957-1958), Okinawa (1958-1966), and Italy (1968-1974), learning to speak 2 other languages (Japanese and Italian) fluently, in addition to the French she already knew. She was witty and loved to make people laugh with jokes and especially puns. She loved learning and continued to study long into their retirement in Memphis, Tennessee, where they lived from 1974 until they moved to Boone in 1997. Ruth always wanted to dance and enrolled in ballet classes as a young adult, taught by the late Albertine Maxwell in Nashville. While the family lived in Hawaii, Ruth learned and performed ancient and modern hula, taught by Isabelle Sherman. While in Okinawa, she taught ballet to the American children on our military bases, and was the only Caucasian to study and perform classical Okinawan dances, joining the studio of Higa Sensei, the first Okinawan woman to break the gender barrier on those ancient classical dances. Together Ruth and Las taught and performed international folk dance throughout the US and in other countries where they lived, from the time they were married until the late 1990s. They were known for their graceful performances and practical style of teaching, which included sharing folk dances with youth and adult groups, churches, community groups and schools, coaching their performance groups, including the Allegrezza Dance troupe in Memphis, and organizing and leading huge international dance festivals. They choreographed the dance scenes for Memphis Little Theater�s always-sold-out production of A Christmas Carol for 20 seasons, and taught regularly at regional and national dance workshops. They were active volunteers in their churches wherever they lived and nurtured friendships spanning generations and continents. Ruth brought joy and laughter to thousands of people during her 98 years.Her family and friends celebrate her life and her legacy. She is survived by two daughters: Charlotte Woodard Schipman and husband Swinson, Pensacola, FL, and Susan Elizabeth Woodard and husband Thomas, Boone; four grandchildren: Cathy Schipman Boehme and husband Arlan, Pace, FL; Connie Schipman Terry and husband James, Slidell, LA; Steve Schipman, Pensacola, FL; and Dawn Leigh Woodard ,Boone; seven great-grandchildren: Galen Boehme and wife Robyn, Rebecca Terry, Ginny Boehme, Hunter Schipman, Ian Schipman, Thomas Swinson Terry, and John Wolfe Schipman; Lasseter�s brother�s wife Betty (Mrs. Marvin P.) Woodard, Signal Mountain, TN; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 72 years, Lasseter Woodard, in March 2011. The family gratefully acknowledges the services of Lynn Miller over the last 18 months. Her loving care enabled Ruth to continue living at Appalachian Brian Estates during her last days. The family requests that instead of flowers or plants, those who wish could make a donation in Ruth's name to the United Methodist Church Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Please make checks out to UMCOR, write #999895 on the memo line, and write "In memory of Ruth G.Woodard" on the memo line or on an attached note. Mail to: UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068, or envelopes will be available at the viewing and funeral. Donations can also be made online at: https://secure3.convio.net/gbgm/site/SPageNavigator/umcor_donate.html?type=1002&project=999895. Please be sure to click the box for Memorial Gift under the "Gift Duration" heading, and list Ruth G. Woodard when prompted. Funeral services will be conducted Saturday afternoon December 6, 2014 at 3 o�clock at Deerfield United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at Mount Lawn Memorial Park & Gardens. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 2 o�clock until 3 o�clock at the church. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Woodard family.