Sandy Fulden Woodard

Sandy Woodard was larger than life, not only in stature but also in his effusive love of life and people.

Born in Kannapolis, NC, the home of Canon Mills, Sandy graduated from high school there in 1957. That year he traveled to Lexington Park, MD, to live with his aunt and uncle (Lucille and Hayden Boggs) and to enter the apprentice-style engineering program called “the Pax Plan” at Patuxent River NAS. He completed the first two years of study and met his future wife, Elizabeth (Liz) Hammett, there in 1961. They married in 1962 and both matriculated to the University of MD to complete their studies in 1964. He graduated with a BS degree in electrical engineering and began working at the test range at the Naval Air Test Center.

In 1981, Sandy became head of the newly established Chesapeake Test Range. There he rapidly increased the role of the organization by upgrading the instrumentation to state-of-the-art and forming a target section. He was also instrumental in establishing a partnership with the NASA Wallops Range by microwave link. This group is now known as the Mid-Atlantic Test Range. The Naval Air Systems Command refers to the Pax River range as a leader in ranges and telemetry.

Sandy took an “early out” retirement in 1988 from the federal civil service system and accepted a position as vice president and general manager of DynCorp, an engineering services company providing support to the US Navy. He continued expanding his responsibilities and supervisory oversight with the company until he retired on July 4, 2000.

Throughout his work life and retirement, Sandy found time to earn a private pilot’s license, travel, and participate with Liz and friends in golf, scuba diving, tennis, and skiing. He and Liz traveled around the world in 2007 and to all seven continents and including the north and south poles. He was also an avid fisherman and gardener.

Sandy was predeceased by his parents, Wilson F. Woodard and Jatana Ballard Woodard. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth Woodard, and his siblings, Vickie Spry of China Grove, NC; Thomas (Song-Cha) Woodard of Salisbury, NC; and Karen (Richard) Jenkins, June Easley, and Diane (Terry) Edwards of Kannapolis, NC.

A Funeral Service will be held later date.

Arrangements were provided by Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home and Cremation Services, P.A., Leonardtown, MD