Obituary of Frederick Jennings Woodson

Frederick J. Woodson (Jay) of Iowa City was born April 3, 1953 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and passed away July 27, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa at age 71.  Growing up in California, Jay often travelled with his family to visit relatives in the Midwest and on the East Coast.  Exploring state and national parks along the way, he developed his lifelong love of geology.  After earning degrees from the University of California Santa Barbara and Indiana State University, Jay received a PhD in geology from the University of Iowa.  Although he moved to Iowa City to study, he stayed because he fell in love with the city, its people and lifestyle.

In his first year at Iowa, Jay met Jane working with maps in the Geology Library, where they discussed travel and camping.  On a road trip to look at geodes, they discovered a mutual love of nature and music.  Over the next twenty-five adventurous years they camped throughout the US, rescued American Eskimo dogs, and created a backyard garden envied by all. Although separated, they remained lifelong friends.

Jay’s profession was geology, but his passion was music.  He studied classical violin in his youth and taught himself to play both guitar and piano.  He could hardly pass a piano without sitting down to play, especially at church.  And he could not pass up Barbara when he first heard her play.  A classically-trained pianist, Barbara taught piano at Grinnell College.  She preferred listening to Jay because he played by ear, and could compose as he played.  Jay and Barbara also rescued American Eskimo dogs, shared a love of music and enjoyed each other’s quirky sense of humor for a dozen years until his passing.

Jay will be interred at the family cemetery in Muncie, Indiana.

Preceded in death by his father, Jay is survived by his mother, sister, brother and two nephews.

Family and friends will all miss his easy laughter, beautiful music, and wonderful storytelling.