Dean E. Woodworth

Dean E. Woodworth Dean Edmond Woodworth died after a lengthy illness Sunday, September 9, 2007, at Big Bend Hospice House. He was sixty-six years old. A family funeral is planned for the near future with inurnment in the columbarium at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church. Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, Riggins Road Chapel (850-877-8191) is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, 2015 Fleischmann Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308, or Big Bend Hospice House, 1723 Mahan Center Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Mr. Woodworth was born on January 29, 1941, in Lakewood (Cleveland), Ohio. He and his family moved to Hollywood, Florida, for his health reasons when he was twelve. He lived there in Hollywood until he and his wife, Julie, moved to Tallahassee in 1969. They lived here for thirty-six years. At age nineteen (1960), Mr. Woodworth underwent open-heart surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. He was one of the first to have the lifesaving surgery using a new medical invention, the heart/lung machine. This pioneering surgery was written up in several medical journals. Mr. Woodworth attended Pine Crest High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He continued his education at Florida State University, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in English Education. He taught English and American Literature in a local high school for many years. He was active in the teachers' union and in the Democratic Party. He and others formed the local chapter of GASP and were instrumental in establishing the first nonsmoking room in Morrison's Cafeteria in the late '70s. This group and others helped to institute anti-smoking laws in the state of Florida. Mr. Woodworth was an active Episcopalian and served his church as an acolyte as a child and a Lay Reader as an adult. In his retiring years, he wrote and published two books. He is survived by his wife, Julie; two daughters, Erin Cameron (and husband Roy) of Orlando, Fla., and Dana Wooten (and husband John) of Savannah, Ga.; a sister, Jane Read (and husband Todd) of Sarasota, Fla.; a nephew, Dan Read (and wife Lori) and two grandnephews, Daniel and Michael Read, all of West New York, N.J.; a niece, Julie Ann Bruton and two grandnephews, Matthew and Mark Bruton, all of Bradenton, Fla.; a sister-in-law, Beth Ziegler (and husband David) and a nephew, Christopher Ziegler, both of Atlanta, Ga.; a first cousin, J. Kiener Johnson (and wife Tibbi) of Columbus, Ohio; and a first cousin, Judy Lonsway (and husband Gerry) of Hendersonville, Tenn. He was preceded in death by his parents, Warner and Virginia Woodworth.