Dr. Samuel “Skip” Amos Woodruff Jr., died 14 June 2015 after a long illness. He was 74. Skip was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend who will be missed by all who knew him.
P/R/C Skip Woodruff, APSkip was born 18 March 1941 in Elizabethton, Tennessee, to Samuel Amos Woodruff Sr. and Melba (Daley) Woodruff, the oldest of three children. His family moved to Columbus, Ohio, in the mid-1940s. Skip became an Eagle Scout at 17. As a young man, he often traveled to Europe with his mother, a foreign language professor at Ohio State University. He learned to love France and the French culture, and furthered some of his scouting adventures there.
Skip graduated from the University School in 1959, where he was a star athlete, lead performer in the school’s theater program, and student body president. In 1963, he married Susan (“Sudie”) Davis, his high school sweetheart. He went on to graduate from Ohio State University’s College of Dentistry in 1967.
Skip and Sudie worked together for 48 years, establishing a successful dental practice in Worthington, Ohio. In 1975, he was awarded “Boss of the Year” award from the Columbus Dental Assistants Society, and his practice was awarded the Green Jersey Award for outstanding business development from Mercer Advisors in 2008.
Skip’s interests were numerous and varied. He was a Boy Scout leader at Worthington United Methodist Church in the 1970s, president of the Clintonville Academy Parents’ Association in the mid-1980s and a founding member of central Ohio’s Grandparents Living Theater group in 1989. He earned his private pilot’s license and tried sky-diving, spelunking, and repelling. He loved his 1978 Suzuki motorcycle and was a big OSU basketball and football fan. He was passionate about watching the Tour De France every year. As a member of the Ohio River Valley Airedale Terrier Club, he was instrumental in developing the Hunting/Working Committee for the club.
Skip enjoyed sailing and was a life member of the Columbus Sail & Power Squadron. He served as commander, District 29 commander, and Chairman of the National Environmental Committee. He taught several classes in safe boating, weather and leadership.
For many years, Skip also served as president of the Alumni Association of University School. He was a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus and a devoted choir member at St. Andrew Catholic Church. He enjoyed spending time in the north woods of Wisconsin with his wife, children, grandchildren and friends.
Skip loved his family deeply, and his friendships lasted a lifetime. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his devoted wife of almost 52 years, Sudie Davis Woodruff; daughters Sarah (Mark) Obermiller and Marie (Rob) Chiller; his sister, Steffanie (John) Haueisen; brother-in-law, Hugh (Cheryl) Davis; niece, Kristen (Jesse) Kmiec; nephew, Scott (Jenny) Davis; grandchildren, Libby, Mollie and Dominic Obermiller; great-nephew, Ash Kmiec; great-nieces, Neveah and Madison Davis; numerous in-laws and many friends. Skip is preceded in death by his parents and his brother Peter Alden Woodruff.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Knights of Columbus of St. Andrew, Knights of Columbus Council #11275, 1899 McCoy Rd, Columbus, OH 43220.
