John Woodard, 75, of Bolivar, departed this life Friday, December 27, 2019 at Bolivar General Hospital.
He was born August 28, 1944 in Marshall, Arkansas, son of the late Ledford Woodard and Lillian House Woodard Bray, moving to Kansas at age 7. He enlisted in the US Navy, from which he retired after 25 years as an E-6 in 1985, and moved here from California in the early 1980’s. He married Sue Ellen Watkins Howell on April 11, 1998, and owned and operated J-Run Trucking Company for 34 years. He enjoyed working on various items, ‘tinkering around’, relaxing on the beach, reading and watching game shows, but received his greatest fulfillment from being around his family, whom he dearly loved. He was a Baptist in faith.
Survivors include his wife, Sue Ellen Woodard of Bolivar; four daughters, Tina Pass (James) of Chanute, KS, Cita Conlon (Kevin) of Jacksonville, FL, Michelle Howell (Ronald) and Nikki Brown (Kenny), all of Bolivar; three sons, Rex Woodard (Gordana) of Jacksonville, FL, Richie Howell of Mercer and Justin Howell (Tiffeny) of Bolivar; a sister, Kathy Vance of Pittsburgh, KS; 16 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Christopher Woodard, 2 grandchildren, Joey Skinner and Karley Howell, 3 brothers and one sister. Memorial contributions in his name may be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org/donate) or the American Heart Association (www.heart.org/donate).
