Leonard Edwin Woodward, 89, a resident of Burns since 1994, passed away Jan. 25 after a long struggle with injuries and illnesses.

Leonard was born Jan. 21, 1931, in Kell, Ill., to Roy and Elsie Woodward. The family moved to nearby Centralia, Ill., where Leonard graduated from Centralia High School in 1949.

He attended Southern Illinois University and drove a truck for Midwest Dairy Products before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force after the outbreak of the Korean War. After graduating from the U.S. Army’s Southeastern Signal School at Fort Gordon, Ga., he was stationed at Itazuke Air Base in Fukuoka, Japan, as a ground-based radar operator. At the beginning of his deployment, he volunteered to fly a mission as a radar operator in an F-94 Starfire interceptor jet over North Korea and was injured by enemy anti-aircraft fire.

While in Japan, he married Etsuko (Okumura) Woodward and had the first of an eventual five children over two marriages. Leonard and Etsuko divorced after 14 years. In 1967, Leonard married Louise (Phelps) Woodward, and the couple celebrated their 52nd anniversary in September 2019.

Leonard, also known as Woody, spent nearly his entire working life as a long-haul truck driver. He drove for Gordon Transport, Lee Way Motor Freight and ABF Freight Systems until disability forced his early retirement. He was a lifelong member of the Teamsters union.

Leonard had a truck driver’s appetite. Among his favorite foods were biscuits and gravy, extremely well-done roast beef, bacon sandwiches, McDonald’s cheeseburgers, and Arby’s roast beef sandwiches. The last thing he ate — after a broken hip, skin cancer surgery, failing heart and kidneys, and apparent stroke confined him to bed — was a tiny bite of the cherry pie that Louise baked for his birthday every year.

He lived and worked in Illinois, Missouri and Ohio, but when he discovered Burns during a trip west, he told family and friends that he felt like he had come home. He and Louise moved to Burns from New Carlisle, Ohio, in 1994. He filled the garage top to bottom with his beloved tools, and built a backyard deck, a children’s playhouse, a heated koi pond, a Japanese tori gate, and a memorial garden, where he asked that his ashes be placed alongside his late canine companion, Hershey.

He spent part of his Burns retirement working at the old King’s Variety Store and Harney County School District.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Louise; two sons, Steve Woodward (Sandra) and Phillip Woodward (Susan); three daughters, Carol Franzen, Sheri Sims, and Susan Woodward; six grandchildren, Brandi Gillespie (Christopher), Tyler Sims (Kili), Shelbi Sims, Skyle Woodward, Dan Woodward (Jen), and Beth Woodward; five great-grandchildren, Eithen and Beau Gillespie, Sage Sims, and Charlie and Mae Woodward; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Margaret; son-in-law, Douglas Sims; and first wife, Etsuko.

At Leonard’s request, there will be no funeral.