William "Woody" Woodrow Hancock, Jr.

William "Woody" Woodrow Hancock, Jr. was born to William Woodrow Hancock, Sr. and Marmett Phillips Hancock on May 5th, 1949, in Bluefield, West Virginia. He grew up mainly in Virginia, graduating from Richlands High School in 1967, and he remained a proud son of the Old Dominion State.

Woody enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1969 and achieved the rank of SMsgt. In his more than 20 years of service, he was stationed at Plattsburgh AFB, New York; Vietnam; Thailand; Offutt AFB, Nebraska; Randolph AFB, Texas; Hickam AFB, Hawaii; Hurlbert AFB, Florida; and Eglin AFB, Florida.

He had deeply personal associations with some of those assignments, as he met his wife of 42 years, Annie, while stationed at Randolph. As Annie describes it, she was instantly smitten when Woody walked in the door of the Pawn Pub, just outside RAFB, in his Air Force blues. He and Annie later were married in Hawaii while he was stationed at Hickam, and his eldest daughter, Katie, was born while he was stationed at Eglin AFB. His youngest daughter, Sarah, was born when he retired and returned to Universal City, gateway to RAFB. He received his degree in Computer Science from Troy State while stationed at Hurlbert AFB.

His cherished daughters have happy memories of time spent with their dad at Randolph, as he would take them each Saturday morning to ceramics class on base, followed by lunch and a trip to the library, often to the accompaniment of Asleep at the Wheel playing on the tape player in Woody’s truck.

After his military retirement, Woody worked as a programmer in the tech industry in San Antonio, specializing in Oracle.

In addition to being survived by his beloved wife and daughters, he leaves behind his brothers, Hunter and Charlie Hancock, to mourn their big brother. Other survivors include his son-in-law, Stephen Baker, his niece Maggie Hancock, and his nephews Will Hancock and Chris Taylor. He also leaves behind his dog, Abby, who he referred to as Lotto after Annie brought her home from the animal shelter.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sister-in-law, Cathy Grady Taylor.

A Gathering of Family and Friends will be held on March 26, 2026, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Colonial Funeral Home, 625 Kitty Hawk Road, Universal City, TX 78148

A Committal Service with Military Honors will follow from 1:00 pm to 1:20 pm. at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Shelter #1, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78209.