Joseph Michael Woods

Joseph M. Woods, 79, died on Friday, January 22, after an extended struggle with cancer. Joe spent his final days at home, surrounded by his family in the house that he and his wife, Kathleen had built and filled with memories of their life together.

Joe was the youngest of the five sons of Charles and Christena (Dekker) Woods. He grew up in Sugar Creek, attending St. Ann’s grade school and graduating from Van Horn High School in 1958. A natural mechanic and craftsman, Joe always had an intuitive sense of how machines worked and enjoyed the challenge of building all sorts of things.

As a young man, Joe and his friends re-built old cars and equipped them with powerful engines -- a fact well-known to their neighbors in Fairmount and (occasionally) to the police. Along with some “informal” racing on local streets, Joe began entering drag races, eventually reaching the American Hot Rod Association’s national championship competition in 1960.

In 1962, Joe traded in his racing cars for a sedate Thunderbird convertible and married Kathleen Kobe, also of Sugar Creek. They had two children, Michael and Ann. Joe worked at Armco Steel for thirty-three years, starting as a mechanic in the Locomotive Shop and ending up as supervisor of the shop. After Joe retired from Armco in 1993, he and Kathleen opened the Kobe House Bakery in Sugar Creek, which produced povitica, strudel, and other baked goods from Kathleen’s family recipes.

Joe enjoyed traveling in Europe and elsewhere with Kathleen, and spending the winter months (after the Christmas baking season) on Sanibel Island, Florida. Joe even went to Hungary to find the place where his oldest brother, Irving, had died when his plane was shot down in World War II. The trip led to a lasting connection with people of a small Hungarian village. Joe had a real ability to connect with all sorts of people. Many enduring friendships were born of his travels, business, and charitable work.

After Kathleen’s mother died of Alzheimer's disease, Joe and Kathleen started Grandma’s Alzheimer Fund to support the treatment of Alzheimer’s patients in eastern Jackson County. They organized annual themed dinners to raise money for the fund, and eventually established an endowment to support the Alzheimer’s Unit at Lakewood Medical Center.

Joe was elected to several terms as an Alderman on the Sugar Creek City Council, and held other positions in city government over the years.

Most of all Joe was devoted to his family, especially his wife of nearly 59 years. He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and, more recently, getting to know his two great-grandchildren. Besides Kathleen, he is survived by his children Michael Woods (Joan Pepin) and Ann Latta (Michael); his grandchildren Peter Latta, Caroline Pepin-Woods, Richard Pepin-Woods, and Charlie Pepin-Woods; and his great-grandchildren twins, Madi and Levi, as well as his brothers Charles Woods, Jr. and James Woods. Joe was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Irving and Francis.

Due to Covid restrictions, the funeral mass at St. Mark’s Catholic Church and the burial at Mount Olivet Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Grandma’s Alzheimer Fund at the Truman Heartland Community Foundation or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Grandma’s Alzheimer Fund
at the Truman Heartland Community Foundation
4200 LITTLE BLUE PARKWAY, STE. 340
INDEPENDENCE, MO 64057

https://thcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1443
https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate