Mark Allan Woodward

Mark Allan Woodward

Wilmington - Mark Allan Woodward, age 64, died on May 1st, surrounded by his family at home. He lived almost a year after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor. Known to many as Woody, he was born in Wilmington, Delaware and attended A.I du Pont schools through 10th grade, then graduated from Sanford School. He did a post-grad year at the Virginia Episcopal School before heading to the University of Delaware.

After college, Woody spent time in Rehoboth Beach serving as the captain of the Fort Miles lifeguards during the day and as a bartender/waiter at night. Back in Wilmington, he was the manager at Royal Exchange and Waterworks restaurants before joining his father in his plumbing business, William J. Woodward Plumbing & Heating, Inc. He became a Master Plumber and was always ready to help in an emergency, earning a host of loyal, long-time customers.

He also loved gardening and spent many hours growing vegetables that he then used to make delicious meals, canned for the winter, or shared with friends and family. In recent years, he and his wife became beekeepers, and he enjoyed giving away jars of the golden honey. He also loved fishing and spending time at Cape May Point in the house that he built along with his father and brother-in-law, Bobby Hutchinson.

Woody was an amazing husband and father. He was an unfailingly honest and caring man and had a strong work ethic. He made sure that his house was always filled with laughter, and he was the life of any party, always showing up in one of his many Hawaiian shirts.

Woody was a very gregarious man, striking up conversations with everyone he came across, from his bank tellers to the clerks who sold him his weekly lottery tickets. He genuinely cared about people and had a way of making them know that. He was well known for his terrific sense of humor and was always ready with a joke or a smile. When Woody made a friend, it was usually for life. He remained very close with friends from high school and college, especially his fellow Sigma Nu brothers from UD.

He loved sports, playing football, basketball, and baseball. His passion for basketball led to him becoming a referee for IAABO Board #11, and he was one of the founders of the Diamond State Classic girls' basketball tournament, serving as the Director of Pizazz. He really loved watching his children play sports and particularly enjoyed coaching their football, basketball, and soccer teams when they were young. When the Eagles won the Super Bowl, he fulfilled a bet he had made long ago with himself by stripping down to his sneakers and streaking around the outside of his house.

After the onset of his illness, Mark re-discovered his joy of watercolor painting. He filled the house with lovely renditions of flowers and scenes from the beach in Cape May Point.

Mark is predeceased by his parents, William Joseph Woodward and Frances Heal Woodward. He is survived by his wife of almost 29 years, Mary Kingery Woodward, his daughter, Sara Woodward, and his son, Joey Woodward. Also grieving his loss are his sister, Rhonda Hutchinson (Bobby), nephews Robert Hutchinson (Stephanie), Russell Kingery (Melissa), Skip Kingery (Lauren), Rick Kingery (Julie), Parks Kingery, and nieces Carla Jarosz (Ed), and Rosemary Leader (Dan), grandnieces and grandnephews Aubrey, Ava, Emme, Chase, Greyson, Macie, and many, many friends.

The family would like to thank his many health professionals for their care, especially Dr. Michael Guarino, Dr. Bernard King, Dr. Tim Boulos, Dr. Douglas Patterson, Dr. Nicholas Quercetti and their staffs, and Rebecca Whitney OTR/L, who went above and beyond what could have been expected. They are also appreciative of the tremendous and continuous support they received from friends and family during Mark's long illness, especially Rhonda Hutchinson and Carl Kingery. At the end, the services provided by Delaware Hospice were invaluable.

There will be a memorial service for Mark once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. He hoped people would consider sending donations to the B+ Foundation, which supports families of children with cancer, saying that "The only thing worse than having cancer would be having a kid with cancer."

For online condolences, please visit Chandlerfuneralhome.com