Gary H. Woodruff

Died: Sep. 1, 2020

Gary H. Woodruff, 74, of Gilbertsville, PA, husband of Pam L. (Romero) Woodruff, died Tuesday September 1, 2020 at his residence.

Gary was the son of the late Benjamin C. Woodruff and the late Annelisa (Fraass) Woodruff. Mr. Woodruff was employed as a Journeyman Electrician and welder. He was employed through the I.B.E.W. 952 of CA and I.B.E.W. 449 of Idaho. He retired in October 2005. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran serving during Vietnam. 

Surviving in addition to his wife is one son, Justin D. Woodruff, Gilbertsville; one daughter, Teri A. wife of Raymond Bechtel III, Gilbertsville; three grandchildren, Annabel, Nathan and Justyn. One cousin, Earl Wilkerson, Utah. 

Gary was born on October 10, 1945 in Stuttgart, Germany with the name, Jürgen Heinz Eckhardt. 

At the age of 7 he came to America with his mother to live in Reseda, CA with his Aunt Hilde and Uncle Bill (William Yetter), who was in motion pictures. Upon his arrival to America he only spoke German and fondly talked about learning “American” by watching Westerns on TV. Benjamin Woodruff married his mother and adopted Jürgen, who took the name Gary Woodruff upon becoming a citizen. 

He moved to Ojai, CA, where he graduated from Nordoff High School. Gary was an avid surfer, entered surfing contests, and enjoyed the beaches from Huntington Beach up the coast to Rincon. In 1964, he joined the Naval Air and was stationed on the USS Hornet, where he served as a photographer on a reconnaissance air crew. The USS Hornet took him all around the world and with his surfboard in tow, he enjoyed surfing beaches around the globe.

At the end of his tour, he worked in Ventura, CA for Akron, which later became Pier One. During this time, he met Pam and they were married on January 13, 1968. He became a Journeyman Electrician and welder in 1974, working mostly on commercial projects, including the first space shuttle at Rocketdyne.

Gary was an adventurer, who loved the outdoors and living life. He always had a motorcycle and enjoyed boating, camping, snow skiing and water skiing. He learned to scuba dive at the Anacapa Islands and went bow hunting. He took private flying lessons and enjoyed long bicycling trips in Southern California. Throughout the years he also enjoyed building a dark room, developing pictures, making pottery, painting, drawing, writing, and gardening in his greenhouse.

Gary and Pam owned several horses throughout the years and he had the opportunity to go on cattle round-ups after moving to Southern Idaho in 1988. In 2006, he moved to Gilbertsville, PA with his wife and son to live near his daughter and grandchildren. 

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, September 12, 2020 with family greeting beginning at 12:30 pm at Connection Church, 962 E. Schuylkill Road, Pottstown. Burial with military honors will be held at Fort Indiantown Gap Military Cemetery, Annville, PA at a later date. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in the memory of Gary Woodruff to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation at https://cjdfoundation.org/donate or by mail at 3634 W. Market St., Suite 110, Akron, OH 44333. 

Arrangements made by the Schumacher & Benner Funeral Home & Crematory, at 359 King St. in Pottstown, PA.