Wayne Leon Woodworth

Wayne was born in Liberal, Kansas on January 31, 1940 to Vida and Norval Woodworth and grew up in Dodge City, Kansas. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree, with a major in mathematics, in 1962 from Kansas State University and a Master of Science in 1963 from Kansas State University. Wayne obtained a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Iowa State University in 1968 and was a professor of mathematics at Drake University from 1966 to 1986, where he also held the position of Chairman of the Math and Computer Sciences Department. In 1984 he joined Principal Insurance Company and worked there until his retirement in 2002.

Wayne met his first wife of 35 years, Mary Ann (Liebl), in Dodge City, Kansas, when she was waitressing at a restaurant. He had to ask her out more than once before she would agree to a date. They were married in Dodge City in 1962 and eventually moved to Des Moines for Wayne’s job at Drake. They raised three children together: Beth, Eric and Amy. After Mary Ann passed away from cancer in 1997, he married Patricia Thompson in 1999. Pat died from Alzheimer’s disease in 2011.

Wayne was a devoted husband, father and grandfather – he loved taking care of his family and, without question, he was excellent at it. He spent countless hours coaching his kids’ sports teams and cheering for them from the stands. In addition, he was an active member of the Catholic Church and volunteered for many years in his parishes and the Des Moines Diocese. His volunteer work provided the great honor of Wayne, Mary Ann and their three children of receiving communion from Pope John Paul II on his visit to Des Moines on October 4, 1979. He also enjoyed participating in many sports throughout his life and would take on each new sport with unparalleled enthusiasm. For many years, he spent countless hours on his bike – riding from Clive, Iowa to work in downtown Des Moines every day and he clocked many, many more miles on the weekends. Later in life he returned to a sport that he excelled at in his youth – golf. During golf season, you could easily bet on the fact that he would be teeing off at the first tee-time of the day at Waveland Golf Course. And, while the family would like to think Wayne’s proudest moment in life was somehow related to his family, we suspect his proudest moment came on August 11, 2015, on Hole No. 8 on the Waveland Golf Course when he hit a hole-in-one using his hybrid 4 club. Wayne shot a 73 on the course that day – a fact that he would readily point out was less than his age at the time.

Wayne was preceded in death by wives Mary Ann (Liebl) Woodworth and Patricia (Lathen) Thompson-Woodworth and nephew Larry Brent Woodworth. He is survived by children Beth, Eric, and Amy (Scott Goings); grandchildren Samuel Woodworth Goings and Charlotte Marianne Goings; siblings Geri Hill, Richard Woodworth and Sharon Woodworth and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral Mass will be held at 10 am on Friday, October 1 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines, Iowa. Visitation will be one hour prior to the mass.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to one of the following: the Mary Ann Woodworth Endowment scholarship fund at Dowling Catholic High School, Anawim Housing (www.anawimhousing.org) or the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

The family requests that those who are attending the services be fully vaccinated or wear a mask.