It is with the saddest of hearts that we mourn the passing of a William & Mary Rowing alum and long-time friend, Stephen Alexander “Woody” Woodward, who passed away earlier this month. Woody will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.
Woody was the quintessential oarsman. He would stoicly power through the most grueling workout and then lighten the mood back on land with a quip or a quote that instantly got eight smiles in reply. Woody was most often found at the stern of the boat in stroke, setting the pace and driving towards the finish line. From the Occoquan to the Schuylkill to back home on the Chickahominy, many of us shared some of our best hours out on the water with Woody.
In order to memorialize Woody, his former teammates and the Friends of William & Mary Rowing have established the Stephen “Woody” Woodward ’05 Memorial Rowing Endowment. The endowment will provide distributions of earnings on an annual basis to support the operations of the Club Rowing program at the College of William & Mary. Woody had a lasting impact on everyone who knew him and those of us who rowed with him look forward to the impact that Woody’s endowment will have on the future of William & Mary Rowing.
If you would like to join us in honoring Woody by making a donation to his endowment, you can follow this link to donate online. If willing, we recommend each donor click “In memory of” and “yes” in order to share your name with Woody’s family. Please include “Stephen Woodward” in the comments.
A service celebrating the life of Stephen “Woody” Woodward will be held Saturday, March 26 at 1:00pm at Second Presbyterian Church, 5 North Fifth Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219. Parking is available in the adjoining deck. The service is expected to be streamed live as well on the website for the Second Presbyterian Church.
For more information on Woody’s life and to share memories with his family and friends, please visit Woody’s online obituary.
Donate Now to the
Stephen “Woody” Woodward ’05
Memorial Rowing Endowment