LUCIAN WOODARD REEVES

Lucian Woodard (Woody) Reeves, USN, (Ret.), died peacefully in Daytona Beach, Florida on August 7 with family at his bedside. Woody was born on September 20, 1918, to Lona Jane Binkley and Harry S. Reeves in the New Harmony Community of Marshall County, Kentucky, near what is presently the city of Benton. After spending four years with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Woody joined the U.S. Navy in 1940. He was stationed aboard the USS Medusa (AR-1) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. The Medusa sustained only light damage during that morning's bombing and Woody was immediately assigned to a salvage crew, working on the USS Arizona, the USS California and the USS West Virginia. He spent the remainder of World War II stationed throughout the South Pacific on the Medusa, the USS San Juan (CL-54) and the USS Boxer (CV-21). After the war, his service took him to Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Virginia, and the Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois, where he was honorably discharged as a Senior Chief Petty Officer in 1960. Woody met the love of his life, Roma Fern Saunders, during his time in Norfolk and married her in 1956. After retiring from the Navy, he worked for General Electric in Owensboro, Kentucky and then with RCA at Cape Canaveral, Florida. He did optical engineering work during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs, installing, repairing and maintaining telescopes, cameras, and other optical equipment. In 1968, he began a new job working on the intelligence gathering ships, USNS Hoyt S. Vandenburg (TAGM-10) and USNS General H.H. Arnold (TAGM-9). Woody was promoted to Ship's Systems Engineer during this time and retired from RCA in 1983, joining Roma at their home in Tampa, Florida after spending so much of his life at sea. During his retirement, Woody spent considerable time tinkering in his workshop. He was an amateur clockmaker and gunsmith and an excellent woodcarver who left many tangible memories for his children and grandchildren to remember him by. There seemed to be nothing he could not fix or make. Woody was especially proud of the laminated, hand-carved rocking horses (with hand-tooled leather saddles) he made for his grandsons and the dollhouse he painstakingly worked on for his granddaughter for many months. He was a Mason and a member of the Tampa clockmakers guild. Woody was a caring, loving and compassionate man. He is survived by his son, Philip Eugene Reeves (Kathy), Tallahassee, Florida; his daughter, Carey Reeves Girouard (Mike), Palm Coast, Florida; and four grandchildren, Adam Reeves, Benjamin Reeves and Rebecca Reeves, all of Tallahassee, Florida, and Michael Girouard, Brooklyn, New York. Woody was preceded in death by his wife, Roma Saunders Reeves; sister, Louise Reeves Hilliard; brother, Howard Reeves; and son, Charles Reeves. Final arrangements are tentative but a memorial service will be scheduled near the end of August at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida where Woody will be buried with full military honors next to his wife, Roma. The family would like to extend special appreciation to Woody's caretaker, Leisa Gardner, and to the staff of the Emory L. Bennett VA Nursing home in Daytona Beach, Florida for their care. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Florida Veterans Foundation, Inc., 4040 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32399; Odyssey Hospice, 149 South Ridgewood Avenue, Suite 400, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114; or a charity of your choice.