Edward C. Woodman

Edward C. Woodman, age 76 formerly of Gahanna, OH, passed away October 20, 2023 at Kemper House in Highland Heights, OH. He was born on April 4, 1947 in Lakewood, OH. Edward Charles Woodman, named after his paternal and maternal grandfathers, spent his formative years growing up in Avon Lake, Ohio where he attended St. Joseph Elementary School and graduated from Avon Lake High School in 1965. After a short stint at Lorain Community College and with the Vietnam War ramping up, Ed was drafted into the United States Army. Following boot camp at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was only one of two cadets who was not sent to Vietnam from his unit. He spent his last year in Germany and was honorably discharged in November of 1968. Ed attended Ohio State University earning a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1974. He was immediately hired to teach physical science at Middle School East in the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools. During his career, he earned a Master of Arts in Education in 1981 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1993. As an educator, Ed wore many hats: teacher, coach, administrator and counselor. Of all of his various job titles, Ed was most proud of his work as one of the coordinators for the Drug Free Schools Consortium, a group of educators and counselors that work collaboratively to address the problems of adolescent alcohol and drug abuse for multiple school districts throughout the Columbus, Ohio area. In 2004, he retired from Gahanna Schools only to become Coordinator of Testing for the District from 2007-2014. His final retirement took place in 2014. Aside from his professional life, Ed’s personal life was witness to his faith in Jesus Christ and his faith and devotion to the Blessed Virgin. From his formative years at St. Joseph School to his dedicated involvement in the Newman Center at Ohio State and eventually the Church of the Resurrection in New Albany, Ed always made himself available to fully contribute his talents to the community. Many of the wood items located around the sanctuary and worship space at Resurrection were the creation of Ed’s handy work. After extensive surgery for colon cancer in 1998 and a year of chemotherapy and radiation, Ed was given a pessimistic prognosis, but with his ardent faith and continual prayer, the cancer never returned and he lived another twenty-five years cancer free. He always attributed his survival to his faith and devotion to the Blessed Mother. As retirement years passed, Ed began to have cognitive problems. Since Alzheimer’s is genetically part of our family history we surmised he was in the beginning stages of this dreadful disease. His condition was finally diagnosed in 2020 and he had been in a slow decline until his passing last week. Ed was intelligent, fiercely independent and exceedingly private. Alzheimer’s deprived him of his own sense of security and peace. The family would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the nursing staff and aides at Altercare of Mentor and Kemper House who looked out for Ed and cared for him over these last two years. A special thanks to Cypress Hospice for their unbelievable attention to Ed’s needs over the last two weeks of his life. May the Angels lead him into Paradise. He is survived by his brothers, Thomas (Roberta) Woodman and Richard Woodman; nephews, Christopher and Aaron (Mandy Osborne) Woodman; niece, Ashley Woodman; and great-niece, Parker. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Harriet Woodman; and grandparents, Edward and Florence Schaefer and Charles and Ella Woodman. A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday October 28, 2023 at St. Noel Catholic Church, 35200 Chardon Rd., Willoughby Hills, OH 440094. Interment will be in All Souls Cemetery, Chardon, OH. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Cypress Hospice, 2 Berea Commons Suite 1, Berea, OH 44017 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, online at https://www.alz.org/ Arrangements entrusted to the Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Mentor, OH. Offer condolences at www.brunners.com.

Edward C. Woodman

April 4, 1947 - October 20, 2023