John B. "Jake" Woodward Jr., Shawnee Mission, Kan.

John Bryan “Jake” Woodward Jr., 83, of Shawnee Mission, Kan., died Saturday, June 7, 2008, at his son’s home.

He was born Oct. 4, 1924, in Sedalia.

He was baptized at East Sedalia Baptist Church. He was a 1943 graduate of Smith-Cotton High School. He joined the Navy in 1943. He was at Utah Beach on D-Day.

After the war, he worked for Missouri Pacific Railroad for 15 years. He then worked for Kansas City Life Insurance Co. and was a regional vice president of Modern Security Life Insurance Co. He later worked for the Board of Public Utilities of Kansas City, Kan., retiring in 1989.

He had a love of fishing and spent several years in the Warsaw area pursuing the big catch. He had been an active member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2591 in Sedalia. During his final years, he spent his days with his son, Thomas.

Surviving are his wife, Thelma; four children, John B. “Skip” Woodward III, Glennie Turner, David Eugene Woodward, Thomas J. Woodward and Gayle Ann Kane; 11 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Friday in the committal shelter at Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kan.

Condolences may be left online at www.amosfamily.com.

The family suggests memorial contributions to Saint Luke’s Hospice, 3100 Broadway, Suite 1000, Kansas City, MO 64111.