Charles And Bertha Woodard

Our tears are not dry from the loss of Mom and now 29 days after her death Dad has followed. He just couldn’t stay here without Bertha. Charles has been living at the VA home for the last 18 months and since March the facility has shut its doors to visitors. However we were able to quietly visit him for 1 hour on Sunday. He knew we were with him and held our hands tight. And though he couldn’t really speak he did manage to say “I love you” and “I sure got lucky!” Dad, we are the lucky ones! We love you to the end of time!

Mom and Dad were always together during their retired years. August 10, 2020 they would celebrate 74 years of marriage.  Being apart was brief, and they are together again.

Charles and Bertha have been long time residents of St. George, retiring here in the 1990’s, embracing the desert and new challenges! They are survived by twin girls, Jil (John) and Jan(Scott), 7 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

Charles Edward Woodard was born June 1, 1925 in Blythe, Arkansas and was the 5th of the 7 surviving children of Mary (Hargett) and Lee Woodard.  Charles grew up in Kennett , Missouri, where the family were farmers and share croppers, growing cotton and other crops. He knew how to pick and chop cotton, take care of the plough horse, milk the cow, sleep head to toe in the only bed he shared with his brothers, and do the bidding of strict parents. He grew up on hard work and responsibility.  As a teenager he sold his “razor backed pig” to buy a Greyhound Bus ticket and followed the westward migration of his 2 older sisters to Orange, California. He found a job at a gas station and soon met Bertha. Their wedding plans were postponed by WWII and Charles spent 2 years in the South Pacific. He manned the ‘Big guns’, (Howitzer 155’s) during battleground conflict and was always hard of hearing as a result.

Married in 1946 Charles built a wonderful and full life with Bertha. He always worked in the car industry, from hands on mechanics to running a Lincoln Mercury Dealership Service Department for nearly 40 years. Charles was a gregarious and fun man and he was always the life of the party. He will be missed by his many friends!

Dad was quite a character. He worked hard and always took care of his family. He was generous to a fault and loved to reminisce about his life and family. We can hear him laughing now, and we can always hear “Cotton Fields” the song he loved so much.

Love you Dad!

Bertha Dorothea Woodard

January 30, 1928 ~ June 07, 2020

Bertha Dorothea Harris Woodard gently passed away on June 7, 2020 with her cherished family at her side.

She was born in El Cajon, California to Marie and Leonard Harris on January 30, 1928. As a teenager she moved to the city of Orange, California going to school at Orange High School (now known as Chapman college.) She loved the beach where she and her girlfriends often found themselves after school. It was on her way home from school that she met the love of her life, Charles Woodard. They met when Bertha took a fancy for the young Missouri boy working at the gas station, she just had to stop to have air put in her bicycle tires! Engaged in High School, they married on August 10, 1946 when Charles returned from WWII. Their family was completed in 1956 when they opened their arms to twin daughters. Bertha taught her 'girls' to love the sea, the mountains and all the creatures that came through their home. Mom was quite a girl, smart (Valedictorian). Full of fun and love. Mom worked hard, was always truthful, never held a grudge.

Bertha is remembered by her granddaughter, "Grandma always had the most beautiful garden, her flowers and vegetables were out of this world, and she was proud of her grapes and fruit trees. Growing a garden in the Utah desert sand isn't easy! But she did it. My grandma loved all animals, and even managed to make friends with the lizards in her garden, they would come running to her when she came outside because they knew she had dried cockroaches for them, which she would hand feed to her little lizard friends. Her bird feeder was always full, and she put up a little "quail crossing" sign beside the road behind their house so that people would be careful of the groups of quail that would frequent the feeder on the back wall. The humming bird feeders were always crowded, and the neighborhood raccoon's loved to visit the grape arbor....."

Bertha was a very kind person. She was an armchair traveler who eagerly explored the world. She will be remembered for her gardens and her love for all of the creatures she found so joyful.

Mom, you raised a happy family and gave us a wonderful life. We miss you every day! We love you to the end of time!