1966

scmintern@scu.edu

Larreau James “Woody” Woodland MBA ’66 was born on July 21, 1931, at Richmond, Utah, to Ephriam James and Bertha Hansen Woodland. The family moved to Ucon, Idaho, when Larreau was 8 years old. He spent many summers working in the fields and herding sheep in the surrounding area to help his family. Larreau attended Ucon High School, where he excelled in his studies, was elected to student body president, and met the love of his life, Lois May Ricks, whom he married in the Idaho Falls Temple on Aug. 6, 1952. Larreau served in the Army Signal Corps from 1951 to 1953, where he learned about electronics. He served on six different Army bases between the East and West Coast and achieved the rank of sergeant E-5. He continued his education, graduating from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California, with a B.S. in electrical engineering and an MBA from SCU. During his life, he worked as an engineer for Westinghouse overseeing many projects, including a waterwheel generator in Montana, open pit copper mine in Nevada, and work on the Brownlee Dam on the Snake River in Hells Canyon. In 1960, he worked on submarines as a civilian engineer and trained the Navy crews on the power plant operations. Larreau was transferred to Sunnyvale, where he became a quality engineer and later took a quality management job with Pacific Plantronics, which sent the first communication headsets with astronauts to the moon. He advanced his career and served as president and general manager in the semiconductor field. Larreau was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He held many positions in the church throughout his life, including Sunday school presidencies, stake mission president, high councilor, bishoprics, and continuous BSA scouter. He and Lois served two missions, leading the bishop’s storehouse and the addictive recovery program for their stake in California. They moved back to Idaho in 2012 and settled in Ammon, where Woody passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family at his home on April 10, 2018, at 87 years old. He is lovingly remembered for his humor, quick wit, generosity, genuine love for others and his ability to mentor and teach complex concepts. He was a master carver of bird figures, which stands as a symbol of his intelligence, creativity, and deep thinking on life,and loved the scriptures and histories of the world. Woody was a beloved husband, father, and grandpa and a kind and gentle friend to everyone who had the honor to know him. He is survived by his five children: Rick Woodland (Darlene), of Meridian, Idaho; Carl Woodland (Debra), of Morgan Hill, California; Nancy W Camacho (Marciel), of Georgetown, Texas; Janice W. Nielsen (Randy), of Rexburg, Idaho; and Garth Woodland (Chanelle), of Ucon, Idaho. His legacy continues on with 19 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren.

08 Nov 2018