Bobbie R. Woodie, 94, of Botetourt County, died on Sunday, October 6, 2024.
He was born on June 5, 1930. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mabel and Elbert Woodie; his brother and sister-in-law, Fred and Rae Woodie; sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Henry Cox; sister, Francis Arnold; sister, Betty Woodie; and his son-in-law, Neal Cook.
He is survived by his wife of 75 years, Phyllis Woodie; his daughter, Rebekah Woodie; and his son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Leslie Woodie; grandchildren, Adam Woodie, Keith Cook, Rachel Cook, Josh Bare, Lindsay Niven, and Hillary Morris; great-grandchildren, Aiden, Paisley, and Asher Woodie, Cora and Wade Meadows, Liam and Grady Morris, and Archer Niven; and by his special nieces and nephews, wonderful in-laws, and faithful friends. He loved all dearly.
Bobbie started his working career as paper boy in 1940s, delivering papers in Troutville along Route 11. During high school, he worked for Rader Funeral Home in Troutville. After high school, he worked at Auto Spring and Bearing in Roanoke during the ’50s. His last job, Superintendent of the Vehicles and Transportation Department in Salem, entailed supervision and payroll of many workers, maintenance of the vehicles, snow and trash removal, among other duties.
After his retirement, he came home to be a farmer, where over the course of 40 some years, he took care of around 20 horses who came to live on his farm. His love of horses translated to his daughter, Rebekah, and they spent many weekends at horse shows, trail riding on the mountain nearby, and on the farm in Brugh’s Mill. His granddaughter Rachel learned to enjoy riding as much as her grandfather, and now Bob’s great-grandchildren, Cora and Wade Meadows, have begun their love of horses.
Before and during his retirement, he and Phyllis traveled the United States with family and friends and visited many states, relatives, and friends along the way. Travelling and hiking were some of his favorite things to do. In fact, he and his son, Mark, camped in and hiked the Grand Canyon in 1983. That adventure, he and Mark liked to revisit in their conversations.
One of his lifelong pastimes was reading. He learned to love reading in the sixth grade where he discovered The Hardy Boys detective series, and he read every one written. From there, he went on to make reading a daily habit, and it was hard to come to his house and not see him reading, especially in his later years.
His father was the minister of the Troutville Church of the Brethren in the 1930s and ’40s. Bob grew up in that church, and later as an adult, he would be active in church life that he loved. He handled the maintenance of the church and many other duties. One of his fondest accomplishments was working as a carpenter for the Church of the Brethren’s Disaster Relief program. He loved the support his work gave to the families who had lost their homes in a weather disaster. He traveled to many towns on the East Coast of the United States. From sleeping on a cot in a Church of the Brethren sanctuary after work to perching on a roof to repair torn shingles, he loved being together with the other workers to help these families in need.
Bobbie started life in Denton, Md., in 1930, where his father was the minister in the Denton Church of the Brethren. His dad worked in churches in West Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina before landing in Troutville, where the family would reside and Bobbie would live for the rest of his life. He attended Troutville High School during WWII. His basketball team, coached by Jimmy Moore, played in the VHSL championship games two years consecutively.
Bobbie was about 9 years old when his family came to Troutville, where he would meet a group of boys about his age. They would become lifelong friends and tramp all over the mountains in that area, fish in the streams, and bike on every road they could find. During their school years, they would catch the train in Troutville and ride to Roanoke. They would see a movie, play some pool, and eat a hot dog at the Roanoke Weenie stand all for much less than what we spend on soft drink today. He and his best friend, Rhudy Scaggs, would continue their love of the outdoors by hiking in the Grand Canyon, the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County, and other trails. Rhudy and Bob would travel to many places in the U.S. with their wives and enjoy the sites, scenes, and camaraderie of these trips.
One of Bob’s early pastimes was Scouting. He attained Life Scout during his time as a Scout. His son, Mark, attained Eagle Scout, his grandson, Adam Woodie, achieved Eagle Scout, and his grandson, Keith Cook, reached Life Scout in the same childhood troop Bobbie had joined in the 1940s. In the 1990s, Mark would become the scoutmaster for the same troop his father had led as assistant scoutmaster in the 50’s and ’60s, which met in the Troutville Church of the Brethren for all those years. It is testament to him that his pastime has traveled so far down his lineage.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at the Troutville Church of the Brethren, starting at 2 p.m. The memorial service will follow at the church and a reception for family and friends will follow the memorial service in the church fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Troutville Church of the Brethren, P.O. Box 156, Troutville, 24175.
