Thomas R. Woodley, age 75, of Concord Township, passed away May 13, 2023, at University Hospitals in Cleveland. He was born Nov. 29, 1947, in Cleveland, to Richard and Helen (Wanamaker) Woodley.
Thomas graduated from Mentor High School in 1966. He attended Ottawa University in Kansas and Lake Erie College in Ohio. He enjoyed fishing, beekeeping, watching the Green Bay Packers, and his cats. He also loved boats.
Tom was a devoted husband, father, “Papa,” and cat dad who loved his family above all else. While he long worked a job that kept him on the road far more often than he wanted, he spent every available minute caring for (and enjoying time with) his wife and children.
The memories he spoke most about were his family vacations – he loved Disney World more than most places, but in truth, he enjoyed anywhere he could spend a few days with family. He also was fond of spending sunny days in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, especially on occasions when he had extra cash to throw onto passers-by.
He was a music lover with no musical talent – his interests ranged from Billy Joel and Meat Loaf to Andrea Bocelli and Phantom of the Opera.
And he thrived in the great outdoors, as long as electricity was involved. For years, he would spend almost every weekend in the summer camping with his wife and children, and later in life, he spent every sunny day he could catching (or not catching) fish with his father-in-law, family, and family friends.
Thomas is survived by his wife, Carol “Susi” (Stockdale) Woodley; son, Kyle (Ingrid) Woodley of Hagerstown, Maryland; daughter, Holly (Gabriel) Valentino of Hackettstown, New Jersey; granddaughters, Isabella and Amelia; sister, Sandra Lenihan of Concord Township; mother-in-law, Inez Stockdale; and two cats, Heidi and Molly.
He was preceded in death by his parents, as well as his cats Colors, Brennan, Extra, Fluffy, Pumpkin, and Autumn.
Friends will be received 1 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Spear-Mulqueeny Funeral Home, 667 Mentor Ave., Painesville, Ohio. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 18, 2023, at the funeral home.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Thomas Woodley, please visit our floral store.