James L. Woods

A private family service with military honors will be held at 9:00 am at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Thursday, January 18, 2018, at the flag pavilion and assembly area. A Celebration of Life memorial service will be held the same day at Oakwood Baptist Church at 2:00 pm for all family and friends. The church is located at 2154 Loop 337, New Braunfels, Texas, 78130.

James was born December 1, 1942, in Lebanon, Oregon, to Ward and Twyla (Dickinson) Woods, Assembly of God missionaries to Africa for 15+ years. James grew up in Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) and the African Gold Coast (Nigeria and Ghana) where his family shared the gospel, planted new churches, and trained local nationals to continue the work.

Returning home from Africa, James graduated from Washington High School in Portland, Oregon, in 1961. In 1969, he received his Associate of Arts diploma from Multnomah College and his Bachelor of Science from Portland State University in 1970. Continuing his love for education, James received double Master of Arts from Western Evangelical Seminary (George Fox University) in 1992 (Psychology) and 1994 (Biblical Literature), and received an Honorary Doctorate in 2013 from the Institute for Teaching God’s Word Theological Seminary.

James worked as a Portland Police Officer in Oregon proudly serving the Rose City for 23 years. He also served in the US Army National Guard Reserves for over 30 years retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. After retirement, James pursued a third career as a Licensed Professional Counselor providing assistance to over 2,000 children and adults for 17 years. To keep life interesting, he was also a businessman, pastor, teacher, and tutor to many of his clients and Texas A&M football players in the early 2000’s.

James is survived by his wife of almost 50 years, Linda (Rey) Woods, daughter, Kristi (Fahlman) Henderson of New Braunfels, Texas, and son, James Woods of Salt Lake City, Utah; granddaughter, Kaitlin Fahlman of Austin, Texas; and sister, Kathleen “Kitty” (Woods) Goss of Deming, New Mexico. He is preceded in death by his parents, Ward and Twyla Woods, and his grandson, Jacob “Kevin” Fahlman.

We are happy that James is with his Savior, free of pain and confusion, and with those family and friends who have gone before us in that glorious homecoming.