Obituary: WOODWORTH, CHARLES

Charles (Chuck) Woodworth11/10/1932 ~ 12/18/2011Charles (Chuck) John Woodworth, beloved husband, father and grandfather, counselor, mentor and friend, passed away in the arms of his wife and three children on December 18, 2011, after a brief battle with complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Chuck was born in Joplin, Missouri on November 10, 1932, the third of six children of Lois Maurine Lambert and Erle Clinton Woodworth. He was an honor roll student who excelled at the popular sport of boxing. He won Joplin's Golden Gloves tournament three times, and in 1952 he turned professional, using the money he earned to pay for college and graduate school.After a three-year courtship, he married Marsha Davis of Salt Lake City on December 19, 1958 in the Salt Lake Temple. He is survived by his beloved Marsha; their children Bradley Woodworth (Cherie) of New Haven, Conn.; Rebecca Hainsworth (Reed) of Lindon, Utah; Jed Woodworth (Shawna) of Madison, Wisc.; and Rachel Watt (Brad) of Bountiful, Utah; 15 grandchildren; siblings Lois Rivers and Raymond Woodworth (Sharon), both of Joplin, Mo., and Judy Kohler (Chuck) of Concord, Calif. He was preceded in death by his sister Linda Woodworth and his brother Richard Woodworth.Chuck had an abiding love for the people of Tonga, in the South Pacific. He served an LDS mission on the island of Niue in the Tongan Mission from 1955 to 1958. He and Marsha taught at Liahona High School (Tonga) from 1959 to 1961. They returned to the islands to serve as president of the Tongan Mission from 1972 to 1974. Early on, Chuck worked as a guidance counselor at the Joplin YMCA. His formal education included an associate's degree from Joplin Junior College (1952), a B.S. in sociology from Brigham Young University (1954), a Master's of Social Work from the University of Utah (1959), and a Ph.D. in marriage and family counseling from BYU (1965). Chuck's great passion in life was what he called "healing wounded souls." He worked as a therapist at the BYU Counseling Center and for 24 years at LDS Social Services in Salt Lake City, Centerville, and Bountiful. In retirement he continued counseling, which he loved, without charge. During his last decade he organized small therapy groups consisting mostly of abused women, and taught them healing principles grounded in LDS theology. He thought of this as a mission and often said this work was the most satisfying of his professional life.Chuck could seem like a quiet, reserved person, but this made his words of wisdom resound all the more profoundly and his well-timed flashes of wit and humor shine all the more brightly. He was beloved by many.Funeral services will be held 11:00 am, Wednesday, December 28, at the Lindon 21st Ward, 325 N. Canal Dr. (600 East), Lindon. Viewings will be held Tuesday, December 27, 6:00-8:00 pm and Wednesday, December 28, 9:00-10:30 am, both at the same location as the funeral. For an expanded biography and online condolences: www.serenicare.com.