Henry Woods Martin

In the early hours of Monday, the 6th of November 2023, Henry Woods Martin joined his beloved wife Patsy in the arms of the Lord. He died as he had lived, peacefully, at home on Sturbridge Drive, in Tanglewood, where he had lived for 56 years. His daughter Mary Pat, her husband Rick Livingston and their daughter Clara attended him in his passing, gathering along with Woods’s son David and his wife Beverly and their children Cody, Matthew and Zoe, and Mary Pat and Rick’s daughter, Madeleine Woods Livingston, to say goodbye to their beloved father and grandfather. Woods is also survived by Cody’s wife Michelle and their son Woods, named for his great-grandfather, and his brother Earle Martin and his loving family. Patsy’s Louisiana family welcomed him from the start, and all the Latimer cousins adore their Uncle Woods.

He was blessed for many years to have the devoted support of Ana Cashpal, Mauricio Pena and Sylvia Alva, as well as loving care from Ruthann Zuchniewicz, Berna Arvie and Titlayo Afolabi. Earle visited weekly and kept him supplied with his favorite chocolate cupcakes.

Born on the 5th of January 1928 in Oklahoma to Earl and Emla Martin, Woods grew up in West University and attended Poe Elementary, Lanier Junior High and Lamar High School. He joined the Navy briefly as the war ended, enrolled at Rice University in 1944, and served in the Marine Corps R.O.T.C during his college years. Graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he was sent by the Humble Oil Company to Lafayette, Louisiana, where on a blind date at Shag’s he met Patsy Dalferes and decided then and there that they would marry. Their wedding took place in 1952, and they spent the first months of their marriage in Quantico, Virginia, where Woods served as an Officer Candidate School Instructor during the Korean War.

After returning to the Louisiana oil fields for a few years, in 1955 Woods joined his Uncle Fred at the T.F. Hudgins Company, a supplier to the natural gas industry. He remained with the company throughout his career, serving as President and C.E.O. until his retirement in 1999. He held a patent for a centrifugal separator that became one of Hudgins’ mainstay products, the Spinner II, but he especially valued being able to mentor younger employees in their careers. As one of them wrote later, “The world would be a much better place if everyone cared about people like he does.” A lifelong tinkerer and inventor–he was the second person in Houston to purchase a personal computer, a VCR and a microwave, he was a welcome visitor to his children’s homes, where he always found things to fix.

Raised in the Episcopalian tradition, Woods became a Roman Catholic when he married Patsy. With the zeal of a convert he embraced the Catholic faith, inspired particularly by the opening of the Church during the Second Vatican Council. Faith became central to their family life as Woods and Patsy welcomed many young priests into their home for Sunday supper. Woods was ordained as a Permanent Deacon of the Church in 1975 and served for many years at St. Michael the Archangel in Houston, where his friendship with Monsignor John Perusina deepened his commitment; he cherished the opportunity to work alongside Patsy in counseling engaged couples and welcoming newborns (including his granddaughters, Madeleine and Clara) with baptismal rites. An encounter with Dom Hélder Câmara of Brazil, who became a friend and mentor, confirmed for Woods the significance of a preferential love for the poor in the life of the Church. He was a staunch and long-term supporter of Casa Juan Diego, the Catholic Worker House in Houston, in their advocacy for refugees and immigrants.

Woods could not escape, and came to cherish, his honorary affiliation with the Religious of the Sacred Heart, who educated both his wife and daughter. For more than thirty years, Woods and Patsy attended Wednesday evening mass at Duchesne Academy, where generations of religious exemplified the spirit of loving community. Sisters Sharon Karam and Ann Caire, RSCJ, dearest of friends and faithful visitors, also survive him.

Following his retirement from T.F. Hudgins, Woods devoted himself to life with Patsy and their grandchildren. They traveled throughout the United States (often in camper vans) and the world, visiting Turkey, the Holy Land, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Machu Picchu together and returning several times to Oaxaca, Mexico. They especially appreciated the landscapes and National Parks of the American Southwest–Big Bend and Chaco and the Grand Canyon–as well as the mountains of Colorado, where the blue columbines and the Durango-to-Silverton narrow-gauge railroad held special memories. Watching his grandchildren in Los Alamos, New Mexico and Columbus, Ohio grow into accomplished young adulthood brought Woods particular joy.

An Eagle Scout in his youth, Woods lived out his values on a daily basis, with love, care and respect for other people being guiding principles. In his later years, he took pleasure in reconnecting with Rice alumni through his work with ROMEO (Rice Old Men Eating Out) and attending programs at the Shepherd School of Music and the Baker Institute of Public Policy. Although he could never keep in mind the difference between White Christmas and Holiday Inn, he loved watching both films at holidays with his family and singing “We’ll Follow the Old Man” along with Bing and Danny.

A Funeral Mass is to be conducted at half-past ten o’clock in the morning on Thursday, the 9th of November, at St. Theresa Church, 6622 Haskell Street in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in Woods’ name be directed to Casa Juan Diego, 4818 Rose Street, Houston, Texas 77007.

Please visit Mr. Martin’s online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where fond memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with his family.