John Michael Woods, 84, passed away on September 22, 2025, in Parker, Colorado.  Born on March 5, 1941, in Richmond, Indiana, he was raised in and around Chillicothe, OH, married and raised a family in Huntsville, AL, Glendale, AZ, and Tracy, CA then retired to Sonora, CA and ultimately Parker, CO.  John, called Mike as a kid, had a mischievous grin and a dry sense of humor mixed with a work ethic and commitment to doing the right thing that was unequaled.

John was the son of John Arthur Woods and Madge Ferguson and brother to Robert Woods.  He married Sara Ann Hartman in June 1964 and over the course of their 61-year marriage raised four children – Tim (Jennifer), Tom (Tina), Kathy & Brad (Emily) – and were grandparents to 12 grand-children – Tyler, Morgan, Grant, Jacob Jonathan (JJ), Claribelle, Ben, Luke, Priscilla, Logan, Grace, Willow, Leah.

An electrical engineer by degree, John worked for Boeing and GE early in his career in support of the Apollo program, then Honeywell, Amdahl, and Fujitsu as a peripheral and mainframe computer system developer and executive.  His accomplished professional career, however, was simply the funding source for his true love – trains.  Growing up in Ohio before the internet and video games, he loved to head to the train tracks to watch the giant steam and later diesel trains churn by.  Later, the Woods family were the only kids in Glendale AZ with a rideable train around their backyard. And yes, the train came before the pool.  He was found nightly in his garage workshop, smoking a pipe or cigar, fixing or restoring antique model trains.  He loved all things mechanical and in fixing antique phonographs, restoring cars, and building a cabin he cursed many of his offspring and grandchildren with a knack for fixing or building anything.  He also taught them, by example, to lead, to take responsibility, to make a difference, and in an imperfect and selfish world, to do the right thing.  He was generous to those who showed a willingness to make a better life for themselves and their families.

John Woods had a temper if you tested him but a heart of gold if you worked with him.  His inner mischievous kid was there until he left this world.  He was known to humorously provide a middle finger salute to those he loved and two if he really loved you.  

He wasn’t perfect, but he was pretty darn awesome and made the world a better place.

John’s family is holding a private memorial service.  In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) or National Breast Cancer Foundation (nationalbreastcancer.org).