Robert C. Woodford Jr.

Robert C. Woodford, Jr., 88, died peacefully at Regional Hospice in Danbury on June 26, 2019. He was the beloved husband of the late Elizabeth K. Woodford for 54 years.

Bob was born in Portland, Maine on February 26, 1931, the son of the late Robert C. and Dorothy F. Woodford. The family returned to Connecticut when he was a young child. He attended schools in Derby and Ansonia, and graduated from Ansonia High School in 1948. After graduation, he took a job at Howard & Barber Co. in Derby, where he met and fell in love with Elizabeth (Betty) Kunecki. They were married in 1951. 

He proudly served in the United States Air Force from 1951 through 1954. He was a radio operator on C-47 aircraft over Korea, and later served as a Technical Training Specialist for Radio Operators. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sargent, having earned the Korean Service Medal, U.N. Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

In 1965, having spent several years employed as a printer, he began working in the print shop of the Connecticut Correctional Institution in Cheshire. He eventually rose to the position of Director of Industries for the State of Connecticut Department of Correction, overseeing all industrial and manufacturing operations within the state prison system. 

Following his retirement in 1988, he became an Emergency Medical Technician, and was an active volunteer with the Southbury Ambulance Association for many years. He also volunteered with the VNA's Catered with Care program, delivering food to the elderly.

Bob and Betty raised their family first in Shelton, then Derby, and eventually settled in Southbury, where they enjoyed entertaining friends and family at their home, and traveling throughout the country. He was an avid bicyclist for more than 80 years, riding 14 miles every morning near his home in Florida until the age of 87.

He is survived by his children, Karen Lucas and her husband Kurt, of Manchester, NH; Cheryl Nevins and her husband Donald, of Tahoe City, CA; David and his wife Diane, of Voorhees, NJ; and Jeffrey and his wife Benay, of Southbury, CT. 

He is also survived by his grandchildren, Adam (and Sara) Lucas, Daryl (and Christine) Osiecki, Tara (and Jonathan) Osiecki-Dowdakin, U.S. Army Specialist Jared Nevins, Ashley (and Ryan) Woodford Kelly, Stephanie Woodford, David M. Woodford, Amanda Holovach, and Molly Woodford, and his great-grandchildren Claire Osiecki and Noah Clark Lucas, as well as his brothers David F. (and Jennifer) Woodford, and Edward (and Karen) Woodford, along with many nieces and nephews, most of whom knew him as Uncle Jimmy.

In addition to his parents and his wife, he was predeceased by his sisters Dorothy Hurd and Barbara Brooks, and his brothers William and Thomas Woodford.

A private service with full military honors will follow at a later date. Per his request, donations in his memory may be made to: Southbury Ambulance Association, 68 Georges Hill Road, Southbury, CT 06488 or at southburyambulance.org/donations/

Munson Lovetere Funeral Home assisted with the arrangements. To leave an online condolence please visit www.munsonloveterefuneralhome.com

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