She was first class. She had the best posture, and when she stood on a platform poised to speak, she was every inch a commanding presence. And then there was her fair and beautiful complexion from her heritage as a Swede, her lovely hair always perfectly in place, her clothes tailored and fashionable. A seldom used four-letter word applied to her as it did few others: Jean Nelson Woodward was a lady.
Fred Anderson |
Yet she was far more than a china doll. She possessed a superb mind. She could grasp organizational problems and analyze personalities. She could capture and communicate a vision. She could take a subject and weave a presentation for any occasion and for any audience. She possessed the capacity to work alongside executives of missions organizations and be supportive of day-to-day activities while projecting for the larger constituency the goals and mission of the organization. While she may not have relished the role of a platform speaker, she summoned everything it took and no one was the wiser. Yet in private, she could be animated, bubbly and humorous.
She was a helpmeet to her minister-husband, and together, Jean Woodward and Robert “Bob” Woodward were a team. They attended Wheaton College and married in 1945. She supported him during his seminary training and fulfilled the role of a pastor’s wife in community after community, first in Maryland at Princess Anne in the eastern part and at Frederick in the western part and then in Virginia at Winchester where they lived from 1974-86.
She was a homemaker. She created an environment which was a refuge for her husband from the stresses of the ministry, a place where they could entertain, and a home where the lives of their four children were nurtured.
When her husband retired in 1986, they moved to Richmond. Bob brought everything he could with him, including bricks from the garden. Their home in Richmond reflected the lifestyle and interests of the occupants. It was a place of refuge and hospitality. And in the basement there was a large library and office which was shared by two very busily engaged and productive individuals — Bob with his several interim pastorates and Jean with her organizational leadership.
In her bright blue-painted kitchen was a framed cross-stitch which read “Everyday is a Beautiful Day.” The saying was a favorite and oft-repeated statement of her husband coined in the pulpit of his Winchester church and the cross-stitch was created as a gift of a member of the church. It was a saying that permeated the lives, philosophies and relationships of the Woodward team. It enabled them to face each day with whatever it might bring and it was a contagious effect upon the congregations, communities and circles within which they moved.
Jean Woodward |
From whence did this lady and her philosophy emerge? From her father she received her outgoing personality. She credited him with leading her to the Lord. From her mother she learned compassion and a rare ability to embrace the needs and interests of people from diverse situations. Her mother also affirmed her personhood and maintained that Jean could accomplish “whatever she wanted to do.”
Alongside her husband, she navigated and perfected a journey within the Baptist denomination. And there were others along the way. When she arrived on the Maryland scene, she found a mentor in Josephine Norwood, the personification of Woman’s Missionary Union in Maryland. Jo Norwood, a native of Richmond and the indomitable executive secretary of Maryland WMU, took the young woman under her wing and impressed upon her the great significance of missions. Another woman in Maryland, Mamie Clause, president of the Maryland WMU, coached her and offered her the first opportunity to preside over a meeting.
Bob Woodward served as president of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware; and because of his state presidency, he was on the committee which drafted the Southern Baptist Convention’s Bap-tist Faith & Message. His growing involvement in denominational affairs gave his wife new experiences and prepared her for something of which she never dreamed.
When the Woodwards moved to Winchester in 1974, at first they vowed to steer clear of further denominational commitments. Enough was enough, but not for long. Bob began service on the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and Jean came on the executive board of Virginia WMU. She became a vice president of the state WMU.
When several leaders within the WMU began suggesting Jean Woodward as a possible president, she offered a quick “no,” realizing the demands of the office. Someone made her promise that before she made a final decision, she would discuss the matter with her husband. She agreed and then just as quickly put it out of her mind. She once confided: “Without ever knowing I had been asked, Bob began saying things that just countered and evaporated all my excuses. He commented that a minister’s wife might be helpful in securing support for the new camp which Virginia WMU was proposing. Little by little the rug was being pulled out from under me.
“Another provision I had considered was that the request to serve was coming from many people and not just a few. The telephone rang and it was the chairman of the nominating committee saying that so many had been asking if I would consider having my name placed in nomination. And then, of course, I did what any woman would do at the time: I cried.”
Jean explained the reasons behind the emotions: “It was an affirmation from the Lord and I believe the Lord prepares us in many ways and not just in intellectual gifts. If indeed a minister’s wife was needed because of the camp project, then I felt that I could do it.” As president of Virginia WMU from 1983-88, Jean guided the vision of a camp into reality.
Just as the state presidency of WMU was concluding, she was tapped for another state leadership post — to serve as president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. She came into this leadership position just at the height of the SBC controversy. With her positive and pleasing personality, she guided Virginia Baptists through a rough period. She had a way of making even a potentially stormy day in denominational life, a beautiful day.
Jean Woodward died on Jan. 7, 2013, at age 88. She would have considered it just another beautiful day.
Fred Anderson ([email protected]) is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society.