Woods, a resident of the Elgin area since 1960, attended school in that community and Hartney and was a part of a multi-generational farm family. He was involved in many different organizations like the Lions Club, 4-H, Snoman and the Sunflower Association at different levels.
He will be best remembered for his long service on municipal council. He first joined the old RM of Whitewater Council in 1986. He served as councillor until 2002. He took over as reeve in 2006 and he continued in that role until 2014, when he helped Whitewater join with Hartney and Cameron as the new Municipality of Grassland in the provincially directed amalgamation move. Woods then served as reeve of the new municipality until his passing.
Grassland CEO Brad Coe said his dedication to the municipality was demonstrated by the fact he kept working until the end, attending a council meeting just two weeks ago. The meeting on November 10 was the first without him.
“He was very concerned for the welfare of the municipality,” Coe said. “It meant a lot to him right to the end. He did everything he could. He will definitely be missed.”
“He was a good reeve, a good leader and as a councillor he was very great to work with,” added Deputy Reeve Ewin Mosby a farmer in the Hartney area. “He was good at handling issues that came up. We are still in shock getting used to him being gone.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder Staff