Rev. Leon F. Woodward

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Birth: Sep. 30, 1890 Carleton Monroe County Michigan, USA

Death: Aug. 3, 1955 Gadsden County Florida, USA

From the memoirs of his son Guy Woodward [with some additions and clarifications in brackets by Darrell Brown]: Leon Francis Woodward, my father, was born in Carleton, Michigan on September 30, 1890. Leon grew up as a farm boy and attended the usual one room country grammar school. This was followed by attendance at and graduation from the high school in the village of Carleton [where he met Eva Potter]. As high school classmates Leon and Eva became attached to one another. Both were good students, and both were interested in sports and participated in cross-country running and basketball on the teams of their respective sexes. They graduated together on June 23, 1909. During that summer Leon went to the state Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti, where he took teacher training courses and passed the teachers' exams. For two years Leon taught in "the old Red School," a one room grammar school west of Carleton. Leon and Eva were married in Carleton on June 7, 1911. That fall Leon and Eva moved to Ottawa Lake, a crossroads hamlet a few miles from Carleton, where he had accepted a position in a larger school. That December of 1911 brought the death of Eva's father. So at the completion of the school year the couple returned to Carleton, where they stayed in the house with her mother. [It was reported that June that in "Carleton, Mich., Leon F. Woodward has purchased the book and jewelry business of Dr. E. J. Potter."] Leon then taught for two more years at the old Red School. In 1914 Leon left teaching to accept a more remunerative job as a rural mail carrier. This entailed a daily drive of several miles over the rutted country roads in his own horse-drawn buggy. The roads were frequently unmanageable for automobiles. At some time during this period Leon acquired, and used briefly, a motorcycle and sidecar, which added zest to the lives of the youthful couple and excitement to the community. However, roads being what they were, this form of transportation proved to be both dangerous and impractical, and the vehicle was soon disposed of, to be replaced by the couple's first automobile --a Maxwell touring car. This evidently was a useful vehicle, although travel in those days was restricted to relatively short distances --20 to 30 miles from home on those roads represented a real undertaking. In 1918, when my personal recollections commence, the Maxwell had been replaced by a Model T Ford. This was the only model Ford made --black, 3 doors, start-with-a-hand-crank, open touring car with a collapsible top and snap-on side curtains.

In 1917 the future seemed promising to the young couple — a new home, a child, a good job, and with the respect of the townsfolk Leon was expected to move into positions of increasing responsibility in the village. But their destiny was to be elsewhere. Eva and her family had been religiously oriented, but Leon's interest was lukewarm at most. When the fire-and-brimstone evangelist, Dave Hill the Lumberjack, came to Carleton for a campaign in one of the churches, Eva and her mother were active supporters and participants. Among other things they joined in a cottage prayer group, and a principal subject of their prayers was the Christian conversion of Leon. He attended some of the evangelist's preaching services, but resisted the appeals, until one day while alone on his mail delivery route he felt an overpowering sense of conviction, and then and there yielded to Christ's call. The public commitment was made in the service that evening. Thenceforth, Leon's life was inextricably bound to the church denomination known as the Evangelical Association. Within a short time his commitment became even deeper as he responded to an unmistakable call to enter the ministry. His first pastorate was at Harper Mission on the corner of Harper and Fisher Avenues in Detroit. The Woodwards moved to Detroit on April 18, 1918. The existing community was strongly Catholic, and considerable antagonism was seen between Catholics and Protestants on occasion. During worship services catcalls would sometimes be heard outside the little mission church, and now and then a rock sailed through an open window. At the time of our arrival, Harper Mission had about fifteen active members, all being families of modest means or less. The salary paid by the Mission was a few dollars a week, supplemented by mission funds from the Conference. This income, meager as it was, was not reliable and before long my parents had exhausted their own funds, including the proceeds of the sale of their home in Carleton. For a time Leon worked at a menial task in one of the industrial plants, partly out of wartime patriotism and partly to supplement his income. An attack of inflammatory rheumatism completely incapacitated Leon. The source of the illness was finally found to be an infected tooth. The tooth was removed, but it was many weeks before he could again function. During much of this period he lay helpless on his back in bed. As a result of the energetic efforts of the pastor and congregation of Harper Mission the congregation grew, and in two years they were ready to construct a permanent structure to replace the rickety wooden building where they now met. [The new building was dedicated in November, 1920]

Leon and Eva enjoyed outings and travel. There were the occasional trips back to Carleton, fishing trips, swimming at various lake and river beaches, an excursion boat ride to Bob-Lo, which was an island amusement park in Lake Erie, an all day excursion train trip to Niagara Falls, and a vacation trip a few years later to Niagara Falls in the Model T Ford. Some of these activities were undoubtedly an attempt to compensate for the rural life that they had left and that they missed. Another mode of compensation was the keeping of cats. They were never without at least one cat in their home until the time of Leon's retirement. The Conference [of the Evangelical Association] maintained a strict seven-year maximum for the assignment of a minister to a charge. Dad stayed the full seven years at Harper Mission. During the final few months he took a part-time job as a delivery truck driver for the Bunte Candy Company. This was to earn the extra money to cover moving expenses, for neither the Conference nor the local church did much to help defray that cost. By all accounts Dad's term at Harper Mission was successfu1. The membership had grown to several times its initial size, and the congregation was dedicated, well-organized and energetic. A new building had been constructed and was paid for. Many people had been helped in times of need by his ministry. Many lives had been changed for the better by his preaching and personal evangelism. He had set a worthy and wholesome example of a dedicated servant of God. Accordingly, a week after the Annual Conference in the spring of 1924 the farewell sermon was preached and we moved to Marcellus and entered into a completely different kind of life. Leon could care for the needs of the Marcellus church on weekends, and attend classes at the Seminary on Tuesday through Friday. To the Woodward family, one of the blessings of Marcellus was the easy accessibility of out-of-door recreation free of crowds and commotion, for within 10 miles of town one could reach as many as 36 lakes encompassing a wide range of size and of variety from muddy bottoms and weed-filled shore lines to sandy bottoms with nice beaches. The fishing was excellent and was much indulged in by us and by many other residents of the area. Leon even used Goff Lake for baptismal services, baptizing by total immersion. At that time the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Naperville offered a course that could be completed in two academic years plus one session of summer school, and Leon enrolled in this course. The family lived in small, rented apartments in Naperville during the two school years, driving the 125 miles back to Marcellus on Friday afternoon or evening and returning to Naperville on Monday. In due season Leon completed his work at the Seminary and now began to devote himself fully to his ministry in Marcellus. Dad's contagious enthusiasm contributed to his ministry, for he was now a popular and respected person in the town and people were attending his worship services and responding to his evangelism in ever greater numbers. But the Bishop believed that Dad was worthy of greater responsibility and a larger church. [So at the Annual Conference in May of 1928, he was charged to the larger church in] St. Joseph. Two weeks later, still confused, the Woodward family were settling in their new home in the parsonage of the Evangelical Church in St. Joe on the shore of lovely Lake Michigan, and were beginning a new chapter in their family life. Leon was possessed of a strong sense of humor and he enjoyed hearing jokes, relating them and inflicting all sorts of practical jokes on his friends and family. Many of his favorite stories had their origins in his rural background and were, to put it gently, less than genteel. There was never a trace of smuttiness, but the stories were calculated attempts to upset squeamish stomachs, particularly when told at mealtime as they frequently were. This type of humor had been accepted and appreciated by the lower class laborers in Detroit and the rural constituency in Marcellus. The strictly middle class constituency at St. Joe had mixed reactions to the more uncouth stories, and he began to be more selective. In his conduct of worship services, informality had always been his keynote. But now, with the seminary training, and with a sanctuary with a pipe organ, a choir loft and choir, and a mimeographed bulletin and order of worship he made some concessions in the direction of a formalized structure, though he seldom felt bound by it. He also made a concession to the extent of acquiring clerical vestments. In May 1934 Leon was transferred, again without advance notice, to the church in Lansing.[Here ends the biography.]

• ********************* From William Henry Watson, History of the Michigan Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, Volume II (1961) p. 198-199: Leon F. Woodward: ... Recommended by Carleton congregation. Licensed by Michigan Conference, 1918. Ordained Deacon 1920; Elder, 1922; Itinerancy: 1920. Pastorates: Detroit (Harper), 1918-25; Marcellus, 1925-28; St. Joseph, 1928-34; Lansing, 1934-39; Grand Rapids, 1939-48; Dearborn, 1948-52; Monroe (Calvary), 1952-54. Publisher of Michigan Evangelical; Conference Statistician; Conference Missionary Society Secretary; Conference Secretary of Stewardship and Tithing; Chairman of Ways and Means Committee. Retired 1954.
  • ********************* Obituary of Aug 6, 1955: The Rev. Leon F. Woodward, Carleton native and former pastor of Calvary Evangelical United Brethren Church, died Wednesday morning in a hospital at Tallahassee, Fla. His home had been at Bradenton for some time. Services were at Bradenton. However, a memorial service will be at Monroe with plans to be announced. A former school teacher as well as minister, Rev. Woodward came to Monroe in May, 1952, from Dearborn. A year later he was granted a leave of absence because of his health but continued some of his church activities. Mrs. Woodward assisted by conducting many of the services in the church. In May, 1954, the Woodwards left with their son, Dr. Guy Woodward of Princeton, N.J. to remain there for a time before establishing residence in Florida. Born at Carleton, he entered the ministry in 1918 after having taught in the rural schools and serving as rural mail carrier. He graduated from Evangelical Theological Seminary at Naperville, Ill., in 1927 and served pastorates at Harper Mission at Detroit, Marcellus, St. Joseph, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Dearborn. He married Eva D. Potter June 7, 1911. She survives in addition to their son and two granddaughters.
    • ******************** From the Journal of the Ninety-fifth Annual Session of the Michigan Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, 1956, p. 94: Rev. Leon F. Woodward September 30, 1890--August 3, 1955 Leon F. Woodward was born at Carleton, Michigan, where he received his schooling as well as his conversion experience. He was a school teacher for four years and spent another four as a rural mail carrier. The call to the Christian Ministry came in clear and concise terms and he immediately responded. He was licensed in 1918, ordained deacon in 1920 and elder in 1922. He was assigned to the Harper avenue Mission in Detroit where he served for seven years. Then, moving to Marcellus, he attended the Evangelical Theological Seminary, graduating in 1927. The other churches he served are: St. Joseph, Lansing, Grand Rapids (Griggs), Dearborn and Monroe (Calvary. During his final pastorate his health broke and he was forced to retire in 1954. Rev. Woodward was unusually gifted in raising large sums of money and always led his congregations toward tithing and Christian stewardship. Also, he was instrumental in leading twelve young men into the ministry, a record seldom reached. Upon retirement, he moved to Florida, hoping for restored health. However, the warmer climate offered no help and he grew steadily weaker. Death came while a patient in the Chattanootche [Chattahoochee] Hospital on August 3rd [1955]. Memorial Services were held in Bradenton, Florida, with Pastor J. F. Cooney in charge, and in the Monroe (Calvary) Church with the Rev. W. H. Watson, D.D., preaching the sermon. The remains were interred in the Carleton cemetery. To Mrs. Woodward and their only son, Guy, we tender our prayers of consolation.

Family links:

Parents:

• Francis Newton Woodward (1866 - 1948)
• Mary Adell Deppen Woodward (1865 - 1940)

Spouse:

• Eva Dawn Potter Woodward (1892 - 1985)

Children:

• J Guy Woodward (1914 - 2000)*

Burial: Carleton Cemetery Carleton Monroe County Michigan, USA

Maintained by: Darrell Brown Originally Created by: Monica Woodward Record added: Feb 11, 2005 Find A Grave Memorial# 10458777