John Francis Woods III

1944 - 2023

John Francis Woods III John Francis Woods III of Hallieford, Virginia passed away on Sunday June 11th, 2023, at the age of 79. He was born in Amelia, Virginia on April 19, 1944 to John F. Woods Jr. and Gertrude Jones Woods.

At the age of 15, he set out to see the world and found a job with Douglas Aircraft in California. Not long after and with a little white lie about his age, he enlisted and served several years in the U.S. Army with the 82nd Airborne. After the Army, he worked on and drove racecars in the Baby Grand Series and found his love of NASCAR. If asked, he would tell you that he was the only person Dale Earnhardt would come to for advice on how to drive the track at RIR. Afterwards he went to work for Reynolds Metals and then the Department of General Services, where he stayed until retirement.

In his spare time, he enjoyed hunting and fishing. If anyone needed fishing advice, all they needed to do was to look for the "guide" and his green sand spike on the beaches of the Outer Banks. As a founding member of Bush River Hunt Club, Thunder Bunny could be found sitting around the card table, telling stories, and aggravating his friends to no end, which was his way of showing his love for each of them. He never met a stranger and would talk to anyone that would listen and no matter where he went, he knew someone that lived right around the corner.

He will be greatly missed but his memory will live on through his stories, bad jokes, and ridiculous sayings that will be retold by those that knew and loved him. "Did you hear about the man in the silo..."

John is preceded in death by his parents John and Gertrude, sister Janice, daughter Patricia and granddaughter Jaime. He is survived by his children Tony (Pam), Janice, John (Beth) and Travis, grandchildren Kyle, Samantha, and William and two great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Saturday July 22nd, 2023 at 2 p.m. at Webber Memorial Baptist Church 7800 Salem Church Road, Richmond, VA 23237.