July 15, 1938-Nov. 30, 2022
Barbara Sue (Manney) Woodring was born on July 15, 1938, in the town of Shawnee, Oklahoma. Her grandparents had been Sooners from Arkansas. During the 1940s, her parents migrated to Los Angeles, California, to work in World War II defense plants. Barbara and her sister Judy attended Montebello High School.
When her parents separated during the last quarter of her senior year, Barbara chose to leave school two weeks shy of graduating, which she always regretted. At age 17, she was already working as a fashion model for Sears & Roebuck and took on other jobs to support herself.
Mom was always self-sufficient and stubbornly independent. She bought a 1958 Ford Thunderbird coupe as her first car and married returning Korean War veteran Lt. Thomas E. Woodring (by then a police officer) in 1962. They soon moved to the Ozark Mountain town of Bardley, Missouri, where Tom grew up. They bought a country market, complete with a U.S. Post Office inside, and she was the tiny town’s post-master. In 1963, Tom re-enlisted in the military as a career serviceman and the couple deployed to Bad Kreuznach, West Germany. Barbara thrived in Germany. She loved the culture, friendly townspeople, the food and especially enjoyed hunting for antiques. Their daughter Sandra was born there.
A son Craig was born in 1968 while his parents were stationed in Northern California. By this time, Barbara was an accomplished oils artist and routinely commissioned to paint portraits. Most of her paintings happened late at night when she said she could tune out the world for the hours she spent at her easel.
The young family of four traveled with annual military reassignments, living on both coasts and in the Midwest. She functioned for years as a single parent during Tom’s deployments, always sketching and painting.
In late 1970, Tom returned home from Vietnam terminally injured and suffering from PTSD. She held the family together and they decided to move back to California to be near Barbara’s family. When he died in 1976, she found herself a true single-parent without a high-school diploma and no marketable skills. Rather than feel defeated, she completed a short run at adult school to finally earn her diploma.
Barbara quickly went on to become a top realtor then broker at Red Carpet Realty in Diamond Bar, California. In 1986, she decided to go to college and graduated at the very top of her class from Mt. San Antonio State College, earning an A.S. in Paralegal Studies.
Barbara taught her children, and then her grandchildren, a strong work ethic. She was protective, honest and compassionate – qualities she passed on by her example. Her love for her grandkids trumped everything else in her life. Craig’s daughter Skylar had her own pink bedroom at Grandma’s house. Sandra’s son Miguel learned to trust his newly adopted family by playing checkers with her every day after school. They also had “date night” when Sandra needed a break. Grandma was central to the lives of her family. They completely trusted her love for them and camped out at her house every chance they got, first in Los Angeles and after 2003 in her new hometown of Hurricane, Utah.
Mom loved to cook homemade Mexican food and Southern dishes on weekends. California-style tacos and pot roasts served with green beans were a family staple. Her turkey dressing and German Prune Cake are legendary, She also enjoyed exploring Utah and getting to know her sweet neighbors. Both of her children and their families also relocated to Hurricane.
Mom’s work here is done. She is survived by her daughter Sandra (Scott) Adams, son Craig (Kelly) Woodring, grandchildren Skylar Dawn Woodring and Miguel Kurt Woodring-Adams, also her ex-daughter-in-law Dawn Woodring and many friends. She is also greatly missed by her St. Bernard dog, “Rue”.
Barbara was preceded in death by husband Thomas E. Woodring, her parents; Robert Riley Manney and Marguerite Katherine (Banks) Manney Hutchinson; an infant sister; Sheri Kay Manney. She has also been reunited in heaven with her sister Judith “Judy” (Manney) Shemonkofsky and Judy’s three young daughters Donelle, Teresa and Sheri Kay Semonkofsky who were all taken in one awful car accident in 1966.
Barbara’s family would like to thank her trusted doctor Dr. Jared Miner, M.D., his nurses Arika and Michelle and his office staff for their years of steady commitment to her healthcare. At the end of her life, she was cared for by Drs. Clements and Empey at Desert Pain Specialists; her incredible new friend Salli Kay Egbert, RN from Dixie Hospice, family friend Peggy Rice, RN and during the final week her entire family was taken care of by Enhabit Hospice’s team of earth-angels Marilyn, Josie and Natalie.
Mom left us after celebrating one final Thanksgiving together. On Nov 30, 2022, she died at home, holding our hands. She was 84 years old.
Relax, Mom. We watched you and we learned well. We will be OK until we see you again. As you have always said, “Don’t worry, things will work out, they always do.” We love you so much. Rest in peace.