Alan Charles Woods

Alan Charles Woods was born September 25, 1929 to Charles Woods and Dorothy (Poole) Woods in Gorleston-on-Sea, England. Growing up in a seaside town ignited his lifelong passion for fishing and being on the water. Alan was a tall and imposing figure, dubbed “Man Mountain” by his father. In his youth, he used his large stature and booming voice as tools to protect his friends and younger siblings from bullies and to stand up against injustice wherever he encountered it. Alan excelled at academics, especially math and physics. He received an academic scholarship to Great Yarmouth grammar school and later won many academic awards and prizes. Top of his class as “Head Boy” in high school, he was also a talented runner, football (soccer) player and exceptional cricket player. Before going to college, Alan served two years in the British Army with the Signal Corps.

After serving his country, Alan attended the University of Manchester where he earned a PhD in Mathematics and became a lecturer. He later took a long and “bumpy” voyage across the Atlantic aboard the Queen Elizabeth to become an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Tulane University. It was at Tulane where he met Gloria Rifici, a beautiful young woman from Brooklyn, New York. She was the love of his life. They were married for 54 years until her death in 2014.

Alan and Gloria moved to Columbus in the early 1960’s when Alan was offered a tenured position as Professor of Mathematics at The Ohio State University. He enjoyed many years of teaching along side his wife and faculty friends. After retiring from Ohio State, Alan enjoyed caring for his beautiful flowers and plants at his Columbus home, including many cacti and orchids. He was a talented carpenter and enjoyed making many improvements and repairs to the mid-century home he and and Gloria lovingly built in 1965. He spent many years caring for his beloved Harlequin Great Danes, especially Sam, his best friend and constant companion of many years. He enjoyed watching Ohio State football and was a lifelong fan of the Manchester City Premier League Football team. Alan was a cultured man with a great love of literature, especially Shakespeare. He had a deep appreciation of classical music and thoroughly enjoyed opera.

Alan was a brilliant man with a sharp wit. With one comment, he would have his family in sidesplitting laughter. His observations were astute and hilarious. His “one-liners” will be repeatedly quoted and lovingly remembered by his family.

In addition to his wife and parents, Alan was preceded in death by his brother John and sister Betty. He is survived by his son Joseph (Teri) of Cincinnati, grandchildren Elizabeth and Nicholas Woods; brother Peter, and sisters Valerie and Margaret.

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to Alan’s caregivers in his later years, especially Rachel at Seasons, the caring staff at the Kenwood, and Will, Brian, Jen, Brian and Briana of Community Home Care of Cincinnati.

The family will receive visitors from 11:30 am until 1:30 pm on Friday September 9th at Schoedinger Funeral home, 6699 North High Street, Worthington, Ohio. Private burial will follow.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Nature Conservancy in Ohio (www.nature.org) in Alan’s memory.