Paul Streeper Woodland, Jr.

Paul Streeper Woodland, Jr., known as “Woody”, passed away in Raleigh, North Carolina, on August 21, 2023, at the age of 83. He was born to Paul Streeper Woodland, Sr. and Dorothy Lucille Robins on September 14, 1939, in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, but his family moved to Virginia shortly afterward. Because of his father’s army career, this was just the first of many moves for young Paul, or “Butch” as his parents and siblings called him. He hated moving, especially when he had to get used to a new school. He once said that the best school he attended was in Washington D.C., where he lived from 1954-1956. It was there he earned a high school championship in wrestling. He then moved with his family to Riverside, California, where he earned his Eagle Scout and graduated from Ramona High School’s Class of 1958. He also spent time working on cars, teaching himself a valuable skill that he would use all of his life.

Following high school graduation, Paul followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the US Army, “to get out of the nest.” He spent most of his time serving at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the 82nd Airborne Division where he earned his jump wings, and then senior jump wings after his 50th jump. He was honorably discharged at midnight on July 1, 1961, and at 12:01 he got on his motorcycle and did not stop, according to his story, until he reached California. After his discharge, he moved to Orange County, California for work. He ended up hating the job that brought him there, and said he took the first job that came along after that. That entry-level job climbing poles for a telephone company grew into a lifelong career for him. At a company party in 1964, he met a telephone operator named Louana Gibson, and on June 19 of that year they were married. The couple had four children together, but later divorced in 1987.

Paul will always be remembered for the strong sense of integrity and honesty he exhibited throughout his life, and for his hard-work ethic. In addition to fixing cars, which he excelled at, Paul liked to use his hands to build and repair things around the house. He always had several in-process handyman projects and fixer-upper cars at any given time. He loved animals, usually keeping at least one dog or two around as pets, and sometimes other animals such as ducks and rabbits. His daughter remembers him once bringing home a baby bird because he’d felt sorry for it sitting in a cage in the summer heat at the feed store. Cradling it in his hands at home, he gruffly told it, “I need you like I need a hole in the head,” but it was obvious that he loved the little thing.

Paul is survived and missed by his brother, William (Bill), his children, Chris, Alice, David and James, and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on September 7, 2023, at 10:15 am at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.