Bom-Wrapper

David Woods
Memorial Candle Tribute From
William G. Miller and Son Funeral Home, Inc
"We are honored to provide this Book of Memories to the family."
View full message >>>

Obituary for David D. Woods

Happy Graduation Day to David Woods! David graduated from the school of life at 7:41pm on the Winter Solstice, December 21st, 2016 at 81 years of age.
David was born in Manhattan on May 28th, 1935 as the son of the late Tin Pan Alley songwriter Harry MacGregor Woods and his wife Livia Nye Simpson. He had two late brothers, Ralph and John.
Before age 10 David was frequently very ill with asthma and pneumonia. His family moved from Southern Connecticut to the clearer air of Glendale, Arizona. David spent his teenage years as a ranch hand, shoeing horses in between adventures to the penny cinemas to watch old “spaghetti westerns” and learning bad words in Spanish from the kids in the neighborhood. He graduated from Glendale High School and attended the University of Arizona where he took every music course he could, and then dropped out as quick as he could to return to New York City.
During the 60’s and 70’s, Dave worked as a guitarist and producer for Decca Records, Polydor, and Verve Forecast Records. He worked with artists such as Scott Fagan, Bobby Vinton, and McKendree Spring. In 1967, he toured with Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters and had two cuts on Van Ronk’s self- titled album. Both songs, titled “New Dream” and “Keep Off the Grass,” were co-written with his first wife Doris .
Like many musicians of the day, David had a close (dare we say intimate) relationship with taboo herbal pharmacology. Needless to say the 1970’s were somewhat a blur. After his divorce from Dorris, he spent time on welfare and it heavily informed his outlook on the world for the rest of his life.
In 1983, at the age of 48, David fathered his first child Jesse, quit smoking pot cold turkey, and married Jean Mosca. He always called Jesse “the man who saved his life”. In 1987, his second son George was born, to whom he passed on his passion for music. He raised the boys in an infamously purple and green house on Academy Street that this very paper called the “eggplant house” back when people still read this thing. The house was a massive old Victorian, so he taught himself how to restore it (This is pre-internet people, he had to read books). Some of his masonry work can be seen at the Adriance Memorial Library where he, much to the heart palpitating fear of his wife, hoisted himself on a pulley to the ceiling to add details to the dome.
David and Jean divorced in ‘95. Three years later he married Janet Hutchings, and he gladly took on the task of also raising her two children Chris and Melissa Evans. He even played fatherly role for Janet's god sun Derek Martin. However, the number of children David fathered didn’t end there. He began a non-profit called Music To Light, with a founding mission to provide music lessons for inmates in Greenhaven Maximum Security Prison. Later the program transformed its mission to teaching inner city kids how to produce their own beats with music software. When those kids needed a place to stay they crashed with Uncle Dave, and as they grew many adopted him as a father figure. When one of his students Bashon Edwards was killed, David spoke through tears at his funeral as a second father. Truly, his love knew no bounds or prejudice and was never in short supply. That same love showed when he became a grandfather twice over in his late 70’s to Tyler and Louise Evans, the children of Chris and Melissa respectively.
David Woods IS a force in the world, and he lived each second of his life on his terms. Every time he loved he dove in head first with reckless abandon and he never came up for air. What better measure of a beautiful life is there? Dave Woods did it right, and those lucky enough to know him will miss him deeply.
There will be a memorial service on January 14th at 5pm at St. Pauls Episcopal Church 161 Mansion St, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.
Arrangements by Wm. G. Miller & Son FH, Inc., 371 Hooker Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. If you wish to send an online condolence please visit our website at www.wmgmillerfuneralhome.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David D. Woods, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

Order Flowers

Recently Shared Condolences

Recently Shared Stories

Recently Shared Photos

Share by: