Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 13, 1993 TAG: 9311130209
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The former tobacco trader had suffered from emphysema for years.
Woody became something of a legend in Rocky Mount. He never missed a Town Council meeting in 24 years, including four years as a councilman. And Woody through the generosity of federal government grants, he amassed a surplus of more than $8 million, enabling the town to pay cash for a sewage treatment plant.
The oldest boy in a family of six children, Woody was born on June 5, 1921, in Rocky Mount. After graduating from Rocky Mount High School in 1939, he became the youngest buyer the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. had ever hired.
From 1959 to 1980, Woody operated a tobacco warehouse in Martinsville with his brother, Buck.
He entered Rocky Mount politics in 1966, winning a council seat.
He was elected mayor four years later in a three-way race and dominated town politics until he retired in 1990.
Woody generated the surplus through the federal revenue sharing program.
He was philosophically opposed to federal giveaways but was always happy to help Rocky Mount.
"If I could call the plays for the federal government, 90 percent of the grants would be cut out," he told a reporter for a 1988 profile in this newspaper. "But as long as I was mayor of the town of Rocky Mount, I fought like hell for every nickel I could get."
His headstrong manner sometimes got him into trouble. He ignored state purchasing regulations from 1986-88, buying from favored local contractors without competitive bids required by law. During a tear-filled meeting, he offered to resign, but council refused to let him.
During his tenure, the town built a municipal building, opened a new water plant, developed an industrial park with Franklin County and recruited several large industries - all while building up the $8 million budget surplus.
Woody acknowledged that he could be blunt, and got even with anyone who crossed him.
"I never forget what anyone ever did for me, and I don't forget what they did against me, either," Woody said. "That may not be the Christian way, but that's the way I am."
Woody is survived by his wife of 50 years, Louise; two sons, Allen O. Woody III and Dudley Woody; a daughter, Rebecca L. Woody; and four grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
by CNB