Ronnie Linn Woods, born November 19,1946, leaves behind a family who will cherish the happy memories they shared. He is survived by Pamela Dowdy Woods, his wife of 56 years; their daughter, April Woods Moss, and her husband, Stephen, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and their granddaughter, Renzi Moss. He is also survived by their son, Jason Woods, and his wife, Krystal, of Jacksonville, Florida, and their children, Hannah Pilkey and her husband, Cal, of Albany, New York, and Boston Woods of Jacksonville, Florida.
Ronnie was the son of the late Ulis Woods and Hilda Gray Thomas. He is also survived by his three brothers and their wives , Danny and Earlene Woods of Murray, David and Alice Woods of St. Augustine, FL, and Jeff and Melanie Woods of Jackson, TN, and his sister, Teresa and Mark McClard of Murray, KY, and his sister-in-law, Pamela Woods of Clinton, KY. He was preceded in death by a brother, Randy Woods.
Ronnie grew up in Murray, KY. He served in the reconnaissance unit in the US Army in Germany in 1966-1968. Some of his many occupations were being an avid and accomplished pool player, self-taught banjo picker, Commodore 64 programmer, former deacon, Sunday school teacher, Royal Ranger Leader, Uncle Jeff’s employee, carpenter, math wizard, general contractor, part time tinkerer, piddler, keen bird watcher, squirrel rescuer, reluctant painter, gazebo builder, golf cart racer, and amateur engineer.
He devoted his early years not only to his country but also his church. He would volunteer to mow his church's yard, serve as a teacher, teach Sunday School, and lead Royal Rangers on hikes. There are untold hours of service, care, seriously competitive card games with church folk that he and his family were part of. He was constantly creating or figuring out difficult problems. His brain hardly ever stopped going and he always read to solve anything he wanted to learn or how to solve any problem. Difficult math and geometry were like breathing to him. He loved to try to help people enjoy themselves. In his child-rearing years, he often had four wheelers, barrels, or some other worldly contraption for his kids and their neighborhood friends to embrace and enjoy childhood. He built a reputation on entertaining the neighborhood kids by engineering homemade stomp rockets and spinners out of scrap, using his engineering skills for maximum chaos and joy.
Ronnie's eccentric brilliance and search for the uncommon will be deeply missed by everyone who had the sheer bewilderment of knowing him.
As for his eternal whereabouts, when a friend gently asked if Ronnie was in a better place, his son, Jason, observed, “I’m sure in heaven they’ve greeted him with, 'So YOU'RE the one everybody's been talking about.'”
He was often heard singing and humming, “Jesus Paid It All and All To Him I Owe”. After a painful struggle with dementia, he was made new and whole on Wednesday at 8:21 p.m. surrounded by his loving family.
Graveside services with military honors are set for 1 PM on Saturday, October 24, 2026 at Elm Grove Cemetery. Aaron Dowdy will officiate.
Imes Funeral Home is entrusted with caring for his family.
