Pauline Woodward, 90
Pauline "Pauli" G. Woodward, 90, passed away after a short illness on Oct. 7, 2023 in Whitefish, Montana, with the love and close bedside support of her three children, Sandi, Brian, Mark and faithful daughter-in-law, Kathleen.
Pauli was born on Nov. 25, 1932 to Pete Paulson and Evelyn Spach Paulson, sharing her birthday with her mother. Her father, Peder (Pete) Paulson was an immigrant from Norway and Evelyn was the daughter of immigrants from Alsace, France.
She grew up in Ustick, Idaho, attending the 4-room Ustick School before finishing at Boise High. She graduated from Boise Jr. College, now Boise State University, with a 2 year Associate degree. She worked at a job in banking before marriage and homemaking. She and her husband, Lloyd (Woody) Woodward, were married in 1953 and remained together until his passing in 2009. Over the years, Pauli lived in Spokane, Washington; Missoula; Boise, Idaho; Post Falls; and Whitefish.
No stranger to hard work, she grew up milking the cows and working on the small family farm to supplement household income. She escaped milking cows in high school, finally winning the argument that, “I shouldn’t have to go to high school smelling like a barn.”
Her foundation was family and home and she curated a large collection of recipes gleaned from wide sources, including the Norwegian family recipe for Lefsa, passed on to her children and still enjoyed every year as a Christmas treat.
Always enthusiastic for the outdoors, she loved hiking among pine trees, fishing and digging razor clams on the Washington coast. Among her fondest memories were when she briefly worked alongside her best friend, Beebe Bernola, as a housekeeper at a home on Payette Lake near McCall, Idaho among the pines and fresh air.
Her earnest optimism was reflected in her interest in aviation. Her lifelong enthusiasm for flight began when she jumped off the chicken coop with homemade wings as a child and when she took her first airplane ride at the Boise State Fair at age 10. That flight made such an impression that she recalled the airplane number, “NC32792”, for the rest of her life and was surprised and pleased to see the plane recently in Sandpoint, still in service to this day. She always enjoyed flying as a passenger and even took her first pilot lesson at age 79.
As an adventurous traveler, she went on 14 cruises over 15 years, traveled to 23 countries and with husband Woody, were motorhome “snowbirds” frequenting the Thousand Trails campgrounds across the west. Remarkably, she beat breast cancer 17 years ago and didn’t let it interrupt her travels to Australia that year.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Woody; infant daughter, Rebecca; and her siblings, Christine Howell, Dorla Green and Larry Paulson.
She is survived by her daughter and two sons; Sandi (Bruce) Robinson, Brian (Kathleen) Woodward and Mark (Diana) Woodward; grandchildren, Marissa Lewis, Sheena McAndrew and Trevor Woodward; and great-grandchildren, Jayli Lewis and Everly Lewis.
Pauli wished for it to be remembered that “she was fun,” mission accomplished.
A short graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on June 8, 2024 at the Post Falls Evergreen Cemetery, 2834 North Spokane St., Post Falls, Idaho 83854.
