William "Woody" F. Eckelkamp

William F. “Woody” Eckelkamp: 1922–2018

William F. “Woody” Eckelkamp, 96, of Villa Ridge, passed away June 2, 2018.

Woody, born April 24, 1922, in Washington, was the son of William Anthony Eckelkamp and Mary Eckelkamp (nee Straatmann).  He was the beloved husband of Helen Eckelkamp (nee Hurt) for 71 years.  They first met working at the Old Diamonds in Villa Ridge.

Woody is survived by his wife Helen; son Stephen Eckelkamp and wife Cherie, of St. Louis; daughter Cynthia Eckelkamp and husband Terry Witthaus, of Washington; daughter Tere Sherman, of Chesterfield; son Mark Eckelkamp and wife Beth France, of New Haven; six grandchildren Christopher (Kit) Eckelkamp, Edward (Ted) Eckelkamp, Elizabeth Presley, Ansel Witthaus, Cyrus Witthaus, and Sonja Witthaus; and three great-grandchildren Audryana Presley, Isla Presley, and Harrison Presley.  

Woody was preceded in death by his parents; his eight siblings; Helen’s parents V. B. and Marie Hurt (nee Kandlebinder); and a son-in-law Stephen Sherman.

Woody graduated from St. Francis Borgia grade school and high school.  He left after his second year at Rockhurst College to serve in the U.S. Navy during WWII.  After the war, Woody was the rural mail carrier for the Villa Ridge Post Office and retired after 25 years of service.  Then he returned to college and obtained a B.A. in Education from Webster College and took graduate courses in geology at UMSL.  As a second career, Woody worked as a geologist for Cominco, Ltd., a mining firm, traveling the U.S. to secure mining leases and mineral rights.

Woody was on the first Board of Trustees for the Scenic Regional Library. In the 1950’s and 1960’s Woody was a square-dance caller for adult and youth groups in the east-central Missouri area. He was also a 4-H leader and member of the Knights of Columbus and Elks.

Woody loved his family who remember him as a patient, kind, and caring teacher.  He remained intellectually curious and encouraged a similar curiosity in others, inspiring lively debates over the dinner table. He took his family on annual vacations in their travel trailer to every state in the continental U.S. plus Canada and Mexico.

After his retirement, Woody and Helen traveled extensively in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. 

A celebration of Woody’s life will be held at Miller Funeral Home on July 1, 2018, visitors may express their condolences from 1 until 4 pm with a service at 3 pm. Memorial donations are appreciated to the JFCAC Resiliency (a part of local Heart Start Programs, only funded by private donations)  WINGS  (WINGS Educational Foundation promotes educational excellence by providing teacher grants, student scholarships for continued education, state-of-the-art equipment and recognition of outstanding faculty and staff achievement) or the American Lung Association.

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