John W. Woods

John W. Woods, 88, died peacefully Monday evening December 9, 2019 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.  He was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on November 28, 1931, to the late John W. Woods and Helen Lyons Woods.  John graduated from Newburyport High School and Boston University and then proudly served overseas for three years as a First Lieutenant in the U.S Army.

Following an honorable discharge, John returned home to Massachusetts to begin a long and successful career as a small businessman focused on the sale of sophisticated scientific equipment.  In the mid-1970’s, he formed and ran his own company, Woods International Scientific Equipment, Inc., selling scanning electron microscopes and x-ray diffraction systems manufactured in the United Kingdom that were used in materials research at such academic institutions and companies as MIT, Harvard, Cornell, General Electric and IBM.  He found meaning in his work through helping scientists advance in their research, excitedly sharing with his family a new insight in a particular scientific field found through a machine he had sold.

John’s primary passion outside of work and family was downhill skiing.  He learned to ski in college and then later taught skiing to fellow soldiers as part of his service in Japan while with the U.S. Army.  Some of his happiest memories occurred with friends and family at Tyrol Mountain in New Hampshire and Sugarloaf/USA in Maine.  He had a particular fondness for Sugarloaf, where he travelled with his family for eight hours every weekend for many years.  His love of skiing was a gift he gave to both of his children and all his grandchildren.

John was a devoted husband to his late wife Judith, who predeceased him by ten days.  He is survived by his son, John Woods Jr. and his wife Jane of Richmond, Virginia; Susan Hood and her husband Tuck of Rockport, Maine; grandchildren Will, Lloyd and Molly Woods and Charlotte and Eli Hood; his very close in-laws Stephen and Maureen Bowley, Richard and Patricia Graham, and Beverly Meserve; and many nieces and nephews, who he loved very much.

He will be remembered by his family as a kind, patient and devoted husband and father.

A private Catholic burial will take place in St. Mary Cemetery at a later date. The Twomey, LeBlanc, & Conte Funeral Home 193 High St. Newburyport, MA 01950 is assisting Mr. Woods’ family with his funeral arrangements.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John W. Woods, please visit our floral store.