John Austin Wyckliffe Woody ’32

Austin died Jan. 2, 2005, in St. Luke's Hospital in Columbus, N.C.. He was 93 and a resident of Tryon Estates in Columbus.

After graduating from Princeton in 1932, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1937, he completed postgraduate training at Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia. He served in the Navy Medical Corps from 1942-47. Transferring to the Marine Corps during World War II, he participated in the landing on Guam in 1944. He was decorated for his actions caring for the wounded and supervising their evacuation. He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander and returned to civilian life in 1947, becoming only the fourth doctor to practice in Tryon, N.C.

Austin was active in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Tryon, and was honored for spending 50 years in its choir. He was a member of the American Medical Association and the North Carolina Medical Society; was a charter member of St. Luke's Hospital; and served three times as president of the Polk County Medical Society.

Following his retirement, he continued to practice medicine at the Veterans Hospital in Oteen, N.C. He received the Governor's Award for Volunteer Services to Children in 1993, and was inducted into the Second Wind Hall of Fame in 1995.

Austin was the widower of Marie Louise Elmer Woody, who died in 2003. He is survived by sons John and William, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

The Class of 1932