Barbara Joan Woodbury

Barbara Joan Woodbury
April 5, 1947 – December 27, 2025
Barbara Joan Woodbury, of La Jolla, California, passed away on December 27, 2025, at
Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, surrounded by family. Barbara lived a life defined by service,
loyalty, and love—leaving behind a legacy that will endure in the hearts of her family,
friends, and the military community she served so faithfully.
Barbara was born on April 5, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas, the first-born child of Charles
Putnam Woodbury, Jr., a United States Marine Corps World War II F4U Corsair combat
aviator, and Eleanor (Gunn) Woodbury, a World War II Marine who later taught Marine
Corps history at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.
Raised in Pensacola, Florida, Barbara attended St. John’s Catholic School, Warrington Junior
High School, and Escambia High School. She later graduated from the University of
Mississippi (Ole Miss), where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and
distinguished herself as an Ole Miss Top Favorite, M-Club Sweetheart, Miss Congeniality in
the Miss University Pageant, Maid of Cotton, ROTC Sponsor, and 1967 Homecoming Queen.
Barbara began her professional career in banking. In her early twenties, during the height
of the Vietnam War, she managed a branch bank at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in
Northwest Florida. After relocating to San Diego in the early 1970s, she became Marketing
Director for San Diego’s largest locally owned commercial bank, further establishing herself
as a respected leader in the financial community.
For several decades, Barbara served as President and Trustee of The Navy & Marine
Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing exceptional military service
through leadership awards, scholarships, and command-directed financial assistance. For
more than four decades, she also served as a Director of Trans World Assurance Company,
an insurance underwriter specializing in life insurance designed for U.S. military personnel
stationed around the world, and as a Director of two insurance holding companies.
Through this work, she helped safeguard the financial security of countless service
members and their families.
Barbara devoted much of her life to supporting wounded service members and the families
of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation. She was an active participant in the
Current Strategy Forum at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and maintained
a deep, enduring relationship with the Marine Corps and Naval Aviation communities.
Her extraordinary commitment was recognized through rare and distinguished honors. She
was named an Honorary Frogman, an Honorary Naval Aviator, and a proud member of the
Tailhook Association. In 2001, she received the first-ever Honorary Tailhooker of the Year
Award. In 2002, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James L. Jones, Jr., officially
conferred upon her the title of Honorary Marine. In 2005, the Sergeant Major of the Marine
Corps, Sergeant Major John Estrada, and enlisted Marines honored Barbara with a parade
at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Barbara served on numerous boards and advisory councils, including the National
Honorary Advisory Board of the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund; the Board of Directors of
the San Diego Humane Society; the President’s Council of the Scripps Clinic and Research
Foundation; Friends of the Home of the Commandants; the AIRPAC Historical Foundation;
the Tailhook Education Foundation; the Advisory Board of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot
Command Museum Foundation; the National Advisory Board of the Flying Leathernecks
Historical Foundation; and the Board of Directors of the National Naval Aviation Museum
Foundation in Pensacola, Florida. She was instrumental in forming San Diego’s first Fleet
Week and was a member of the Marine Corps Aviation Association, the Naval Order of the
United States, Southwest Commandery, and a lifetime member of the Naval War College
Foundation.
Barbara was deeply proud of her country and of the millions of men and women who have
protected and defended the United States of America. A gifted and passionate
photographer, she spent countless hours photographing military awards ceremonies and
gifting those photographs to recipients and their families. She was her family’s cherished
photojournalist, creating and gifting more than 200 photo albums filled with thoughtful
captions, preserving memories for generations.
Soft-spoken, elegant, and gentle, Barbara was widely known for her kindness, generosity,
and grace. She loved animals and remained devoted to causes that reflected compassion
and service throughout her life.
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Eleanor and Charles Woodbury; her
brother, Tod Woodbury; her aunt Romaine (Ralph) Sampson; and her uncle Lee (Mary)
Gunn.
She is survived by her sisters, Nancy Royals and Marilyn Woodbury; her brother, Bill (Jan)
Woodbury; her nephew, Ben (Meghan) Barksdale; her nieces, Leigh (Jamie) DeBole, Paige
Davis, Maggie (Dylan) Thomas, and Kendall (Hurst Butts) Woodbury; her cousin, David
(Opal) Gunn; her grandnieces Ellie Barksdale, Charlie Davis, Piper and Sunny Thomas,
Olivia and Sophia DeBole; her grandnephews Thomas Barksdale and Royal Woodbury; her
family Charles Black, Serena Black, and Alex Black; and her dear lifelong friend, Sarah Click
Carruth.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Joyce and John McTighe, Miguel Velasco, David
Kinney, and the compassionate staff of Scripps Hospital and its Palliative Care Unit.
Pallbearers will include General James L Jones, USMC (Ret.); General Peter Pace, USMC
(Ret.); Captain John McTighe, USN (Ret.); LtGen, Frederick McCorkle, USMC (Ret.); General
William Nyland, USMC (Ret.); SgtMaj Frank E. Pulley, USMC (Ret.); Captain Rodger Welch,
USN (Ret.); Captain Michael Bergey, USMC; Sergeant G. Scott Bergey, USMC; Miguel Velasco;
Charles Black; R. Mason Truluck; Ronald Wood; David Kinney; and David Russell.
Graveside services will be held at El Camino Memorial on January 30 th , 2026, at 11:30am. A
celebration will be held at George’s at the Cove following.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement or the Tail-hook Association