Erba "Jean" Woodruff

On April 15th, 2024, Jean Woodruff passed away after a short illness at the age of 98.  She was a loving wife, an exceptional mother, a devout member of the LDS Church, a registered nurse, a cosmetologist, an avid gardener, and a dancer who was active her entire life.  As a longtime neighbor Jean was a caregiver and a friend to many.  Although Jean became a local celebrity for her ballroom dancing skills and vitality, she wanted people to know that dancing was only one aspect of her multifaceted life. She was proceeded in death by her husband, Wilford (Bill) R. Woodruff in 2011.  Jean is survived by her daughters Pamela and her husband Russell, Sally Ostler and her husband Jim and her sons Dan Woodruff and his wife Chris and Mike Woodruff and his partner, Sharon Porter.  Along with five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Jean was born and raised on a farm in Louisville, IL.  She was the fifth child of Aden and Edna Wolfe’s eight children.  Over the years, many stories were told about growing up on a farm and being raised during the Depression Era.  In 1944 she joined the Army Nursing Cadent Corps to support the war effort and entered the St. Thomas School of Nursing in Akron, OH.   She graduated in 1947 and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to complete her one-year training obligation at the VA Hospital.  In her off time, she began taking lessons at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio and found that she loved to dance but also loved her instructor, Bill Woodruff, who became her lifelong husband and companion in 1948. Jean was an independent woman who had to stay busy.  Besides being a registered nurse, Jean at 61, became a licensed cosmetologist, enabling her to give haircuts to friends and family and provided hair service to the infirmed for many years.  She retired from Intermountain Health Care in 1989 but continued to work part-time as a recovery nurse for a local surgeon until 2009.  She was a nurse for over six decades, finally giving up her license when she reached 84 years old.  All the family acknowledges that after her husband’s stroke in 1998, her hard work and care kept him actively engaged and enjoying life for another 13 years.  She took up ballroom dancing again in 2012, testifying that it kept her healthier and happier.  Jean successfully participated in many dance competitions during the last decade with her specialty being Latin dances.  The family wishes to acknowledge the wonderful support and friendship provided over the years by her closest friend Molly Kimball, her neighbors Janet Thurgood and Jane Hughes, her dance instructor Martin Skupinski - who kept her on her toes, and many others who were always there if she needed help and made life more fulfilling and fun.  Her funeral service will be held at the Olympus 3rd Ward Chapel, 4100 So. Camille St., Holladay, Utah on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 1200 PM.   A viewing will be held before the service from 1000 AM – 1145 AM. Interment will be at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to your favorite charity in Jean’s name.