In Memory of Richard Joseph (Dick) Woodcock
Richard Joseph Sr., 85, of Cape Cod passed away June 30, 2017. He was the beloved husband of Estelle for 63 years and devoted father of Deborah Virginia Woodcock, Heather (Woodcock) Ayres, and Richard Joseph Woodcock Jr.
Known to family and friends as “Dick,” he was born in Montclair, NJ to the late Joseph and Virginia (Bullock) Woodcock. Dick graduated from Northwestern University in 1953, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma, and earned a law degree from Columbia University in 1958. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict and was honorably discharged in 1955.
Dick met Estelle at Northwestern in 1952, and they married in 1954. Dick and Estelle lived in Anchorage, AK, Hartsdale, NY, and Scarsdale, NY for 20 years, and in Potomac, MD for 43 years, before relocating to Cape Cod in 2016. Dick loved the Cape, having spent many summers there with family.
Dick was as an attorney at Thacher, Proffitt, Prizer, Crawley and Wood and at Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam, and Roberts in New York. In 1972 he joined the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor as an Attorney Advisor. He was instrumental in land and energy management decisions, including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and was known for his integrity and institutional knowledge. In 2005, Dick received the Distinguished Service Award, the highest civil service commendation an Interior employee can receive.
Generous with his time and talents, Dick served as an Elder and Trustee at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale. He enjoyed supporting his children’s activities, serving as the CCSDA (Country Club Swimming and Diving Association) representative for Kenwood Golf and Country Club in Bethesda, MD. He and Estelle received the Kenwood Hobelman Award, given to the parents contributing the most to swimming and diving. When one of his children was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2006, Dick began raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He never stopped.
A Civil War buff, Dick delighted in taking his family to every historical site within a day’s drive of Washington, DC – in chronological order. Never was there a better battlefield docent. Dick discovered magic in his youth and particularly loved sleight of hand. Rarely without a deck of cards in his pocket, he practiced whenever he had a little time, and enjoyed entertaining children and adults alike with his illusions. When his beloved Dodgers left Brooklyn, Dick became an avid Red Sox fan -- a passion that lives on in his children.
In addition to his wife and children, Dick is survived by his grandchildren, Joseph Cade, Estelle (Ellie) McLoughlin, and Virginia Grace Woodcock.
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