Lynn James Woodworth

Lynn James Woodworth passed away on April 11, 2022 at the age of 81. He was born in Anamosa, Iowa on November 4, 1940 to Glen R. and Grace Gesina Woodworth. He worked on the family farm and graduated in 1962 from Iowa State University with a degree in animal husbandry. During his duty with the Army Reserves, Lynn went to work for John Morrell & Co., working for the same company as a regional sales manager until his retirement in 1996.

John Morrell took Lynn across the United States with his wife, Mary, where they had two children, Kurt Joseph and Jan Marie. After returning to the Kansas City area, he moved to Arkansas City, Kansas with his second wife, Carol, where they raised their daughter, Anna Gretchen. Lynn married Susie Sturd in 1996 and they continued living in Arkansas City until Susie’s passing in 2017. He then moved to Shawnee, Kansas to be closer to his three children.

During retirement, Lynn worked at the “Yes We Have It!” store, Bryant’s Hardware, with his best friend Alan Bryant. The two of them shared a love of collecting duck decoys, sporting collectibles, and other oddities. Every April you could find them in Chicago for the annual decoy show, swapping stories with lifelong friends and sharing their love of collecting with their sons. Lynn was an avid bird hunter early in life, but as he grew older he enjoyed watching the birds on the window feeder more. He became a vegetable gardener and loved to peruse the weekly grocery ads, always finding the best meat buys for the week.

Lynn loved his prairie-bungalow historic home in Ark City, living there for over 40 years. He hand-stained all the hardwood floors and restored every window. Lynn served as an elder and was on the Finance and Building and Grounds Committees of the First Presbyterian Church in Arkansas City. Lynn loved doing projects, turned "puttering" into an art form, had a great singing voice, and was proud to be a part of the church and community.

He is survived by his three children, his step-children John and LeeAnn Sturd of Arkansas City, Jeff and Trisha Sturd of Overland Park, Kansas, and Linda and Paul Johnson of Salina, Kansas, 13 grandchildren, and 5 “littles” (great-grandchildren) with one more any day now. Lynn was preceded in his death by his parents and his sister, Glenda Schlemmer.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 a.m., on Friday, April 15, 2022 at Shawnee Presbyterian Church,   with Pastor Craig Gibson officiating. Burial will follow in Monticello, Iowa.

Memorials may be made to Heifer International through Amos Family Funeral Home.

To watch a livestream of Lynn's funeral service please click here .