John R. Woods

[Tim Chance]

I can't remember the first time I met John, the late 50's or early 60's I guess. I had the pleasure of talking to him at the reunion last year. I'm at a loss for words. Attached is from today's Post-Dispatch.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I was fortunate that my Dad wanted to travel outside of Texas when we first started so I was able to see Johnny Woods racing alky. I learned very quickly that he was one of the top drivers on the national circuit. I can remember those four cylinders loopers on his runabouts. I got to talk to him at length at DePue where I got him to sign the only surviving photo I had from his alky days. He really liked that picture and I promised to send him one. I had misplaced all the addresses I bought back from DePue for about three months, and it was on my list to do. Another reminder to everyone...(I'm the worst)....if you don't do it now maybe you never will. As Joe said yesterday, that was another good reason for having DePue. Johnny had a great time at DePue and stayed late. I got a dozen photos of him at DePue. Here is the first one. God bless you Johnny and your family.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

A man of John's means would have many choices to make where he wanted to spend his time, and probably had a lot of people inviting him to different functions, but he chose to set aside the time for DePue to spend with his old boat racing friends. It was great that so many of them were there for him to share time with. I know all of his old friends that attended are sure glad they did. In the last two pics it appears that Jay and Catherine Root are really enjoying what John is trying to lay on Russ and in the next frame is Russ' response.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

A few more pics from DePue.

[ferv888ipba]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Original Looper 1
I just received word from my good friend, Johnny Dortch, that John Woods was killed yesterday in a tragic motorcycle accident.

John Riner Woods raced Quincy Welding engines for many years. I have many fond memories as a child of attending boat races with John. John was always a true gentleman to everyone he met. He lived in the St. Louis area.

More to follow.


thanks,

Paul A Christner


Paul,
Thanks for the way in which you remembered John. He was a true gentlemen and I too have fond memories of him. I was a Freshman in High School when the Nationals were brought to Depue for the first time.

I believe that Seattle had bid on all of the nationals and money became an issue and Homer Kincaid brought the idea of the Nationals to the Lake Depue Preservation Association. They decided to go ahead and put them on.

Unfortunately, in 1961 there was this Hurricane called Carla. Carla decided to come ashore as a Cat 4 storm in Texas and headed north. The result was that the rain field came all the way north into Illinois and dumped enough water that they were pulling trailers off the beach in the middle of the night.

Having grown up in Depue and the Illinois Valley area, the boat races were a big thing even back then. I had an Uncle just down the street from the Catholic Church who I stayed with that weekend.

My first thing to accomplish was to get past the ticket booths and fencing put up, but I paid to get in the first day. After that I had a benefactor named John Woods.

John was pitted accross from the VFW with this huge trailer on the street and carrying everything up and down those dang stairs. John was running Mercs that weekend and I believe was in every racing class that weekend.

Like every kid who loved racing and wanted and was willing to pay the price for a long weekend with their hero's, I asked to help. John said are you sure you want to do this, my grin from ear to ear told the story.

John was very good to me and tried as he might to teach as he "commanded" the crew even at his tender age of about 20.. He was generous with his time and resources as I did not have to worry about paying to get in again. John had a lot of motor trouble and did not do as well then as he went on to do later in his career.

After that weekend, I was all about St. Louis, tried to get the St. Louis stations on the old piece garbage raido that we owned and thought about John a lot.

I was fortunate enough to see John at the reunion and thanked him for his kindness with me so many years ago. I am sure he did not remember me, but I sure remembered him. Later on at Depue he would come with those green decked hydros and i always enjoyed my memories.

Thanks Paul, and thank you John, we will see one another again.

Ray

[Master Oil Racing Team]

That is a great story Ray. I could picture it exactly in my mind. Hurricane Carla was a very substantial and devastating storm. It did damage to most of all of the whole Texas coastline. We were 50 miles inland from Corpus Christi at our home in Alice about one hundred and twenty miles south from where it came ashore. I can remember sitting with my uncle watching the wind whip our oak trees around. Now you tell me that you remember Hurricane Carla too Ray, and it affected the Pro Nationals at DePue. I can see exactly where John was pitted, and I don't know if it was the same trailer I remember, but I can see it stacked full with boats, and a lots of iron hanging on the inside, with props decorating the wall. I can envision you helping to carry boats and motors up and down the ramp. I'll bet John is right now smiling at your memory.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Long after John went from racing alky outboards to inboard racing his image lived in program after program for many years. I don't know who took the pictures, but they made programs all over the midwest and south. I think this cover of the 1969 Pro Nationals features Johnny Woods inside of Jerry Simison and Dick Pond driving for Marshall Grant. It is hard to see the Y, and I don't recall how Johnny set in the boat, but those that remember can confirm or deny my guess. The D hydro flipping at Lakeland, Florida is John I believe. It's not the pic I was looking for that made all the programs, but I believe this is one of a sequence.

[Ron Hill]

I talked to Jerry Hedlund (Gerry to some), today, he told the famous pictures of "WOODIES" going over backwards in his D Marchetti would be sent to me soon. Jerry assured me, when he and Ron returned from Wisconsin, that he'd get his daughter to send me the pictures.....

Johnny had told that being president of the National Pepper Association was a lot of work and had considered having me take his job....Maybe, I'll step up and take over the National Pepper Association (NPA)...As Johnny always wanted one strong NATIONAL association...

Johnny had told me he had nothing planned in October and wanted us to come and visit for the month.....We told Johnny, that next year we'd come for a week....

Chad and Corey had visited St. Louis last week on business...I told them to call Johnny that he'd want to see them...When Chad called me the other morning he just said, "Dad, I wish I'd called Johnny when I was in St. Louis..."

More on John Riner Woods from St. Louis Missoura later...

[jrome]

I talked with Marshall Grant yesterday, and he told me that John was one of the first ones to purchase one of the Grant Fuel Tanks. He won D Hydro with it, and was disqualified. The referee said that the rule book did not say he could use it and John replied, "It did not say I couldn't use it!" After a heated arguement, John won the National Championship. Good Memories of you, John.

[russhill]

It’s taken a few days for me to be able to write about John. It was such a loss to boat racing and to me personally. I’m also sorry the services were so soon, that I couldn’t make it to them. When Ron started this site, I told him we needed a category called “Gentlemen Boat Racers.” Certainly at the head of this list is John Riner Woods.

I always say we were lifelong friends, but that’s a typical Russhillian exaggeration. It hasn’t quite been fifty years. Once again, thanks Ron et al for the De Pue Reunion. We all got to see John eat corn. My picture in the first post here is what all super rich people do—eat corn on the cob with a bunch of old boat racers.

John and I first met in about 1960, at an Outboard (Pro) Commission meeting. We became instant friends. We both even had wives named Judy. I have had dinner with him and Judy in upstate Michigan every year for the last few years and was looking forward to visiting him at his Ozark farm and seeing his railroad.

His railroad is the Arborway, T. T. & Northwestern. Look it up: www.arborwayrailroad.com.

Even though we only see each other yearly and trade a few emails, and our friendship has had a few long term hiatuses, I will miss him. We’ve had some fun experiences together.