ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240034
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PEMBROKE
Virginia Tech Police Lt. James Edward Woods, known throughout the area for his firearms expertise, died Wednesday at his Pembroke home after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 59.
Woods, a Giles County native, worked on the university police force for 25 years until he took a sick leave last year. He was a uniformed division shift commander.
Capt. J.G. Falls, a friend of Woods' for more than 20 years, said Woods taught firearms courses and often worked on weapons when they broke down. He was an avid jogger who often could be found running during the one-hour physical fitness breaks permitted during each shift.
Falls said Woods stayed with the Virginia Tech police force for more than two decades because of the camaraderie within the department and his love for helping others.
Woods, who had three sons, enjoyed working on a college campus surrounded by young people and regularly made himself available to new officers.
"He had young kids, he had three boys and he could relate to a lot of things people were doing," Falls said.
Woods is survived by his wife, Silvia, three sons and a daughter-in-law: Craig, of Berlin, Germany; Chris, of Pearisburg; and Curtis and Kate, also of Pearisburg. He also is survived by his sister Beverly W. Ballard, of Tampa, Fla., and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. today at Pembroke First United Methodist Church. Interment will follow in the Birchlawn Burial Park, with Masonic rites by Castle Rock Lodge 334. Memorial donations may be made to the New River Valley Hospice in Blacksburg.
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Woods (headshot) KEYWORDS: NEWS OBITby CNB