Woods, J.H. Keith

The Life of Joseph Harry Keith Woods

Keith Woods, beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather, passed away peacefully early Sunday morning, September 29, 2024 at Evergreen Place Personal Care Home surrounded by his family. Keith was in his 88th year of life.

Left to mourn his loss and celebrate his memories are his children Kelly (Reid) Cowieson and Michael (Marcie) Woods along with his grandchildren, Daris (Erin), Ryan (Allie), Amy (Gabreille), Ben (Jill ) and Kate (Oryn) and his Great Granddaughters, Jordyn, Vivia, Hallie, Maddie and Anika. Also left to mourn his loss is his sister Elaine Gibson, brother Grenville Woods, sister in law Lucille Woods and many nieces and nephews. Keith will also be missed by special friends Maxine and Greg Graham, his many friends and his community.

Keith is predeceased by his loving wife, Joy (Knight) and granddaughter Nicole Joy (Stewart). His mother and father Norval and Muriel Woods, brothers; Blake Woods, Barry and wife Alice Woods, sister in law Arlene Woods and brother in law Donald Gibson.

Joseph Harry Keith Woods was born in Carmen, Manitoba on March 22, 1937.  He was the youngest son of Muriel and Norval Woods of Elm Creek Manitoba. Keith grew up and received his early education at Elm Creek. He left school in 1955 when he was eighteen years old and went to Virden to work for Monarch Lumber for about a year. In 1957, he began to work for an oil Company in Virden called Schlumber Jay.  He enjoyed working for this company but soon realized that he would have to go back to school so he moved into Winnipeg Technology Institute and in 1959, he received his certificate in radio and television repair technology.

In 1960 he became employed as a grain buyer for N.M. Paterson Grain Company. He packed up and moved to Stonehenge SK., where he met so many friends. During this time, he started dating Joy Knight, youngest daughter of David Allan and Bessie May Knight of Winnipeg (formerly Cypress River, MB). Joy had received her education at Gordon Bell High School and after graduation; she worked at MTS as a telephone operator. In 1960, Keith and Joy got married in Winnipeg. They packed up the car, and with her “Hope” chest strapped on the roof, they headed to their new home in Valour SK.

In 1962, their first child, Kelly May was born and the family received news that they would be moving back to Manitoba, so they packed up and moved to Emerson, MB. While living in Emerson, Keith bought grain for Patterson & Sons and worked on the side with his own TV and Radio repair business. Soon a son, Michael Keith was born (1964) and the family was complete.

While living and raising a family in Emerson, Keith was involved with the ELKs Lodge, the Emerson Fire Department, and Emerson Curling Club. In 1971, Keith joined Canada Customs working in Emerson until he took a transfer to the Boissevain to work at the Peace Gardens in 1978. Prior to moving to Boissevain, Keith worked for two summers in Churchill, MB where he ran the Port of Churchill for Customs and Immigration which he enjoyed very much and gained some valuable experience working closely with RCMP and Harbor Patrol during this time.

After moving to Boissevain, Keith worked at the International Peace Gardens port of entry for another 20 years until he retired in 1998. During this time he was an active member of the Boissevain Lions Club and the Boissevain Curling Club.  After Joy’s untimely death in 1989, Keith found himself wanting change in his job so he participated in a variety of training and teaching positions both in Winnipeg and in Ottawa for Canada Customs. This offered him change from his regular position as superintendent of the port and an opportunity for him to meet new people, which was something he had always enjoyed.

When Keith found himself retired, he did do some travelling however he found that he needed something to keep himself busy and that’s when he found himself back in the agricultural industry once more, buying flax straw for Kimberly Clarke in 1999. The company was bought by a firm called Schweitzer Mauduit and he continued to worked for them until his 2^nd retirement in 2015.

Keith kept busy after he retired from buying flax straw and could be seen driving around the country side visiting quite a variety of friends from Emerson to Winnipeg, to Elm Creek to Assiniboine, SK. He loved to fish and spent years travelling with his little fishing boat between lakes in the Turtle Mountain Lakes (William, Max, and Metagoshe), Killarney, Rock Lake, Pelican Lake, Lake of the Prairies and of course Falcon Lake (where Michael’s home is located) and Oak Lake (where Kelly’s cabin is located).

He travelled often to the USA especially wintering in Texas for years. He travelled regularly to the west Coast to visit family and he vacationed in Hawaii & Acapulco.

In 1992, Keith made a decision to open his house to others so from that point he began to rent out his basement to a variety of people, some working people and some university students fulfilling summer positions. Keith especially enjoyed the young men from other countries that have lived in his basement and formed some truly wonderful relationships with them. He loved to hear about their countries and their families and took great satisfaction in helping them adjust to Canadian life.

Nothing was more important to Keith than his family. He loved spending time with his son, Michael and his wife Marcie at Falcon Lake and his daughter Kelly and her husband Reid at the farm south of Souris or their family cabin at Oak Lake.  He loved hanging with the kids, Nicole, Ryan, Daris, Amy, Ben and Kate. He loved being around the young people, laughing and joking with them. Because of his infectious personality, his warm and welcoming smiles & hugs, the kids found that even their friends loved their Papa and many times he would be greeted and known all over Manitoba as Papa Keith! When he became a great grandfather with the birth of Ryan and Allie’s two daughters, Vivia and Anika,  and Daris and Erin’s daughters, Hallie and Maddy, he was so proud and could hardly wait to hold the babies. Papa was a loving affectionate father, grandfather and great grandfather till his last day. They have many memories in his shop building projects, fishing in his boat and camping in his little camper. He spent a lot of time following the kids and their sports, attending graduations, socials, weddings and family holidays. It didn’t matter what the occasion, Papa was there. He was so very proud of his “clan”.

In 2020 Keith received a diagnosis that would change his life forever. He was diagnosed with Dementia and he made the difficult decision to sell his house. He decided to move to Hobbs Manor in Brandon and where he enjoyed a brief time making new friends, visiting old friend and visiting Canadian Tire regularly! After experiencing a medical problem and the coming of the Covid virus, Keith and his family decided to move back to Boissevain to the ‘ol stomping grounds filled with friends and neighbors. He moved to Jubilee Manor and really enjoyed entertaining old friends, family & new friendships, as well as the familiarity of a town that loved him.  When his health started failing, he reluctantly gave up his driver’s license which he valued almost as much as his family. Losing his independence was very hard on him but it wasn’t long before he got his scooter and was still able to go to the coffee shop!

He moved into Westview Lodge after experiencing some more health issues. Like a trouper, he took change with a grain of salt and made the best of his situation. He participated in all activities and regularly went on outings with Maxine or Kelly or Mike, often going for the weekend to the cabin, Falcon, or the farm. In 2022 he had a fall and he started to be more reliant on others care. After a short stay in the hospital he ended up making his home at Evergreen Place.

Evergreen residents and staff became his second family and he loved the staff as they involved him in all activities.  They were wonderful and many friends and family visited him regularly so he was quite content and happy. As time passed his dementia manifested in anxiety and confusion but he usually knew everyone and he kept his sense of humor right till the end of his life. Keith passed away with his family by his side on Sept 29, 2024.

Funeral Service was held at St. Paul’s United Church, Boissevain on Thursday, October 10, 2024. Private interment in Chapel Lawn Mwemorial Gardens, Winnipeg at a later date. In memory of Keith, donations may be made to the Boissevain-Morton Foundation Box 1075 Boissevain, Manitoba R0K 0E0 or to the Boissevain Health Centre Auxiliary Box 403 Boissevain, Manitoba R0K 0E0.

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