Frederick C Woodruff

Frederick Clarke Woodruff, (85), of Fullerton, California, passed away on July 28, 2023, due to Parkinson’s Disease, he was surrounded by his family.

Fred was born to Frederick and Geraldine (Jerry) Woodruff on September 5, 1937, in Utica, New York. He attended St. Francis de Sales High School where he was a talented athlete, competing on the varsity track team and playing basketball and baseball in the city leagues. Fred described his high school experience as being a strict environment, where the students wore coats and ties to class and the brothers were stern disciplinarians, but also a great education.

Fred then attended Colgate University, in Hamilton, New York. While at Colgate, he was a member of the Dean’s List and the Phi Society for academic achievement. Fred was President and Treasurer of the Newman Club and a member of the Colgate Religious Society. He was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) Fraternity. His athletic achievements continued at Colgate where he lettered in varsity cross country, played intramural basketball, and was the intramural mile champion his freshman year. He graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in history.

Following college, Fred attended Syracuse University College of Law. While in law school, he was accepted into a new legal program that the United State Marine Corps was developing. Before his third year of law school, Fred reported to Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Virginia to complete boot camp and Officer Candidate School. In 1961, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and returned to finish his final year of law school.

While at Syracuse University, Fred met the love of his life, Jean Anne Clapper. They met on a blind date, but they were not each other’s dates. Instead, because he was shorter than Fred, Fred’s life-long best friend Dominic Folino was Jean’s date. They eventually sorted things out and after a short courtship, Jean and Fred were married on March 3, 1962 in Hilton, New York. Dominic was Fred’s best man.

Fred graduated from law school in June 1962. He and Jean returned to Marine Corps Base Quantico where he attended the Basic School graduating in July 1963. Fred then attended the Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island where he graduated fifth in his class. In 1964, Fred was assigned to Okinawa, Japan and served as a defense counsel in court martial trials. Early in 1965, while in Okinawa, Fred acted as the defense counsel for a Marine involved in a friendly fire incident that resulted in the first Marine casualties of the Vietnam War. Ultimately, his client was not charged, but the case made national headlines at the time given the tragic circumstances involved.

In July 1965, not long after the start of the Vietnam War, Fred reported for duty in Danang, Vietnam. Fred was assigned as a Foreign Claims Officer for an area of USMC control operations. He was responsible for the payment of damages to civilians resulting from non-combat actions. While serving in this role, Fred traveled extensively in Vietnam, conducting investigations and paying claims. Fred remembered a few close calls while in Vietnam, but counted himself lucky as he was serving in a non-combat role. In October 1965, he was promoted to Captain and soon after he completed his tour and returned to Jean in New York. Fred was always proud of his service in the U.S. Marine Corps and even taught his daughters the Marine Corps Hymn and cadence marches.

Following his service in the Marine Corps, Fred started his long and distinguished legal career with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Fred worked for the FAA’s Office of the Chief Counsel both at Headquarters as well as various regional offices, ultimately serving as the Deputy Chief Counsel of the FAA’s Western Pacific Region. While working for the FAA in Oklahoma City, Fred was on the faculty of the Oklahoma City University Law School where he taught classes on environmental, admiralty, and aviation law. During his time with the FAA, Fred was a mentor to many young attorneys and taught Trial Advocacy as a faculty member at the FAA’s Center for Management Development. Fred loved teaching and was an excellent lecturer and public speaker. Fred also pursued and received a Master of Law degree.

While working at the FAA Regional Office in Boston, Massachusetts, Fred was the chief legal counsel for the FAA at the scene of a fatal airline accident at Boston Logan Airport. He never forgot the devastating images and this influenced his approach to his job for the rest of his FAA career. In 1994, Fred was awarded an FAA Distinguished Service Award. He retired in 1994 after 28 years of dedicated and outstanding service. During his time with the FAA, Fred handled more than 2,200 enforcement cases and acted as trial counsel in 185 enforcement hearings with a success rate of 90 percent. Following his retirement, Fred worked in private legal practice, mostly remotely, from Maui or from the road in the motor home, until retiring again in 2008.

Fred loved travel, history, nature, sports, reading, and exploring new places. He and Jean traveled to every corner of the United States and extensively in Europe and Asia. At first camping in a tent, then in a small camper with his family, and later living full time in a larger motor home with Jean for several years, Fred took his family on great adventures exploring the country. Fred and Jean, sometimes with their girls, toured National Parks, forts, battlefields, and historical towns and homes in every state. If you ever needed advice on what to see and do while on vacation, Fred was the best source of information. He would go to his extensive library and provide endless ideas of things to see and do.

History was a lifelong passion of Fred’s. He was always reading, usually more than one book at a time and usually about history. From majoring in history at Colgate, to planning trips that involved touring historical places of interest, to building an impressive library of history books, Fred loved history. After his retirement, he began researching his family’s genealogy and wrote a book entitled, “The Woodruff’s of Northern New York State” which he dedicated to his wife Jean who helped him “daughter out.”

Another favorite pastime of Fred’s was playing sports in his younger years and later watching his four daughters compete in swimming. From 1977-1990, Fred never missed a swim meet. He kept a notebook recording each daughter’s events and race times at various swim meets, noting new “best times” and some less than stellar performances—once describing a daughter’s performance as “drowning.” Fred would even sit and watch the girls’ swim practices. He was the ultimate “swim Dad” cheering them on and giving pep talks when needed.

Above all else Fred loved God and his family. Fred was a devote Catholic and was very involved in the church, volunteering his time, teaching catechism, and serving as an extraordinary minister.

He was a dedicated and faithful husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend. By far, he loved spending time with his family and friends the most. His family was his first priority. As one example of how Fred put his family’s best interest first, when he and Jean moved to California, they decided to live in Placentia even though it was nowhere near his office, and despite many opportunities to move up in the FAA, Fred never bid on another FAA position again. Instead, he spent years commuting 75 miles a day and working from 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to try to avoid traffic. He sacrificed so that each of his daughters could finish high school with their friends. Just as soon as one daughter would graduate high school, another would start. When his youngest finally graduated, Fred “daughtered out” in another way.

Not surprisingly, when Fred and Jean hit the road in a motor home following his retirement from the FAA, they picked routes that allowed them to visit family and friends. Their daughters would call each other to let the other know that Mom and Dad were headed their way.

Having four daughters, Fred was a “girl dad,” and he had a special relationship with each of his daughters.

Chally, his eldest daughter, shares that one of her dad’s many great qualities was his ability to conduct himself as an attorney with professionalism and compassion. Chally attended Fred’s last trial for the FAA in Hawaii. The defendant was a young helicopter pilot who had failed to do a recon fly-over before he tried to land, and he ended up crashing after hitting some telephone lines with two police officers on board. According to Chally, Fred treated the pilot fairly and with compassion. The pilot admitted what he had done wrong and Fred agreed to a fine but did not suspend his license, which would have been financially devastating to this young pilot. After the trial, the pilot approached Fred, shook his hand, and thanked him for treating him so politely and kindly. Even the two police officers thanked Fred. Looking back on that day, and having now worked in the legal profession herself for so long, Chally knows that not every attorney behaves this way. She has always felt very proud knowing that her dad was one of the good lawyers.

Chally also appreciated Fred’s patience and his sense of humor, especially living in a house full of loud, screaming, and giggling girls. Chally recalls that when, she did stupid things, like locking her keys in the car in front of a gas pump at 9:00 p.m., Fred came to her rescue with spare keys, not yelling at her, but laughing uncontrollably at the situation she had gotten herself into.

Fred and Jean raised their daughters to be strong, capable, and compassionate human beings. Holly, Fred’s second daughter, shares that he taught his children to be humble but confident, to stay true to God and yourself, to be a good sport when winning and to lose with grace, to stay faithful to your friends and family, to treat people with kindness, to laugh at yourself and forgive easily, and to enjoy life to the fullest. Through his fatherly lectures when they were in trouble, Holly recalls that Fred taught his daughters how to conduct research, how to know the facts and the rules, how to debate, and how to form a closing argument. Fred also taught them how to drive a stick shift, how to check the oil and change a tire, how to ride river rapids in a Kmart raft, how to build a snow fort and take a snowball to the face, how to march to and recite USMC cadences, how to ride a wave, how to build a sand fort with a defensive moat, how to paddle and steer a canoe, and how to go on a long hike without a map while never admitting you are lost. Holly recalls Fred leading his band of daughters into many adventures and no matter how many times Jean would admonish him that “they were just little girls,” Fred would just smile and move on to the next great adventure.

Fred made it a priority to spend time with his family. Holly remembers Fred flying out to drive back with her to California after she had taken the Colorado Bar. She was exhausted and coming face-to-face with the reality that she had no job and was deep in school loan debt. Fred sized up the situation and suggested they make the trip home an adventure. They ended up visiting the Air Force Academy, and three national parks, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and Petrified Forest. Great Sand Dunes was an impromptu addition and when they got there, they practically had the place to themselves. They hiked up the dunes and ran or rolled down as fast as they could like they didn’t have a care in the world. Right before they left the Park, Fred suggested that Holly write in the sand, “Oct. 1991 – PASS”—sending out good vibes that she would pass the bar. Fred knew this father-daughter time was just what Holly needed.

Fred’s third daughter, Laura, shares that he developed her imagination and sharpened her critical thinking skills through his love of history. She remembers that once, while walking in a wooden area that had been the site of a Revolutionary War battle, Fred encouraged her to pretend she was a colonial solider. Laura believes it was easy to do because he spun a thrilling tale of intrigue and drama based on true facts pulled from his memory. Fred also expected all of his girls to pay close attention while touring an historic location so that they could ask the tour guide at least one pertinent question —and he rewarded his girls with a big smile and a deeper discussion later. According to Laura, Fred showed his girls how interesting and important history is and all four, as well as many of his grandchildren, share his passion for history.

Laura also recalls how Fred immersed himself in the lives of his grandchildren. When they were toddlers, Fred got down on the floor and played with them—though sometimes the toddlers got down on the floor to help him do his exercises. When his grandchildren were in elementary school, Fred would make up pretend businesses and help them figure out how to run them, joining in the make-believe fun. He also invited them to sleep over in the camper, make s’mores and enjoy spending time with Maudie, Jean and Fred’s little dog. Once the grandkids turned 12, Jean and Fred flew the girls and a few years later the boys to Hawaii to enjoy of week of fun in the sun and sand. Granddaughter Zoe remembers how amused Grandpa was when she and CJ (Catalina) devoured the slice of Hula Pie they got the girls for dessert in less than a minute. When his grandchildren were tweens and in their early teens, Jean and Fred went out of their way to drive them to dance practice or to get hamburgers and milk shakes so that they would have the opportunity to talk with them about their lives. Zoe shared that when they drove her to and from the University of Washington’s movie camp when she was a freshman in high school, both grandpa and grandma asked her all about the old films she was watching and encouraged her to tell them what she liked and didn’t like—she shared it was obvious they were sincerely interested in something that so interested her. Thus, the beginning of Zoe’s love of classic cinema is all wrapped up in fond memories of quality time with her grandparents.

Fred’s youngest daughter, Stacey, describes her father as a man of integrity and the original “girl Dad” who raise independent women. She also describes him as a life-time learner who was always hungry for knowledge. He loved researching interesting issues, especially if history was involved. Stacey fondly remembers family dinners that would go on for hours as the family shared stories, some new, some old and often repeated, and many leaving everyone laughing till they snorted or cried. Fred was one of the best storytellers, but he also loved a good story.

Stacey remembers how much her dad loved Maui and the beach and sharing that beautiful place with his family. The many wonderful experiences with her dad and mom on Maui developed Stacey’s deep love for the island which she often describes as her “happy place.” Stacey also shares that one time the family was at Makena Beach on Maui when the surf was particularly rough. Fred and the girls were playing in the waves and body surfing when Fred was slammed on the beach head first by a big wave. Daughters came running and swimming from every direction to help their dad. Luckily, while very shaken up, with a cut on his head, Fred was alright. Fred’s response to the scary event? He joked that he was glad he had spent all that money for his girls to take the Red Cross lifesaving courses.

Stacey has wonderful memories of how Fred looked at her when she participated in the Miss. Placentia Pageant. She could tell just from Fred’s face how much he loved her and how proud he was of her, not because she was all gussied up in make-up, with her hair done up, and in a beautiful gown, but because of who she was as a person and how brave she was to take on the challenge. Fred didn’t just “show up” for his family, he supported them, cheered for them, and held their hand or their bag for them. With just that look from her dad, Stacey felt confident, supported unconditionally, and loved.

Fred had life-long friendships. While not one to work a room, he loved being with and getting to know people, particularly in smaller settings, and if you sat at his table, you quickly became his friend. He treated old friends like new ones and new friends like old ones—with old friends, he was genuinely interested in what was going on in their lives and with new friends he quickly made them feel at ease as if he had known them all his life.

Fred was a great storyteller and he loved sharing stories of his adventures, which almost always included funny anecdotes and life lessons. His sense of humor was wonderful—never mean spirited and often self-deprecating. In fact, humor was one of Fred’s super powers and he wielded it to put people at ease, to take tension out of difficult situations, and to help his family deal with the ups and downs of life. Both Fred and Jean taught all of their children, and later their grandchildren, how to look at life through the lens of good humor. Whenever Fred was around, those around him were laughing with him and laughter is so healing.

Fred was wise, honest, generous, funny, thoughtful, brave, hard-working, and kind-hearted. He loved his family and friends, and he adored Jean, his wife of 61 years. Fred lived a life of faith and gained great strength from his belief in and love of God.

Fred is survived by his wife Jean, four daughters, Chally (Dean), Holly (Mark), Laura (Ed), and Stacey (Tim), five grandchildren Tim (Lauren), Catalina, Zoe, Rick, and Liam, and two greatgrandchildren Braden and Sommer. He is predeceased by his parents, Frederick and Geraldine, and his daughter, Wendy.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Fred’s name to The Nature Conservancy, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The American Battlefield Trust, or the Wounded Warrior Project.