Margaret Starcke Woodruff-Wieding

A retired professor and a student to the end of her days, Margaret Starcke Woodruff-Wieding died Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008, from a pulmonary embolism. She was 66. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at Weed-Corley-Fish, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd. Margaret was born June 9, 1942, in Seguin, Texas. Her parents were Max Starcke, a former mayor of Seguin and general manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority, and Evelyn Quinn. Margaret grew up in Austin and graduated from S.F. Austin High School in 1959. She attended Wellesley College for two years before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin. While a student at UT, she married John W. Woodruff III, also of Austin and also a student, in 1961. A son, John David, was born in 1963; a daughter, Rebecca Lee, in 1966. The marriage ended in divorce in 1971. Margaret completed B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in German from UT in 1964, 1970, and 1974. From the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, she worked at UT as a German instructor and as a staff member at the Bureau of Business Research and the Linguistics Research Center; she also taught at Austin Community College. At a neighbor's Christmas party in 1981 she met Del Wieding and began a courtship that lasted until her death. They were married in 1986. In 1987 she became an assistant professor at Texas Lutheran College (later Texas Lutheran University) in Seguin, where she taught for more than 10 years. Returning home, she taught once again at Austin Community College and began working toward a second Ph.D., this time in comparative literature, from UT. She completed her coursework and was starting on her dissertation when she died. Margaret is survived by her husband, Del Wieding, and his father, Wilbur, who shared their home, as well as her children and their families, also of Austin: David Woodruff and his wife, Colleen Hobbs, and their daughters Lydia and Grace; and Becky Dyer and her husband, Wayne. She is also survived by John Woodruff, a good friend for more than 50 years. The family asks that people who would like to make gifts in Margaret's memory consider supporting causes dear to their hearts or dear to hers. She was a passionate advocate for social justice and world peace. Margaret was grateful that she was able to spend so much of her life in the company of students, educators, and administrators who were dedicated to the advancement and protection of all kinds of learning. Go in peace.