Col. Bob Woollard (Ret.) February 5, 1945 -October 4, 2015

Robert Freeman Woollard passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, October 4. He was 70 years old.

A Celebration of Bob's life with military honors, will take place at Sisters Community Church on Friday, October 16, at 11 a.m., with viewing at 10:30 a.m., and lunch immediately following the service.

Burial will be at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland on Monday, October 19, at 2 p.m.

"Colonel Bob," as he was known in the Sisters community, was born in San Diego, California, to Henry and Lucille (Schreiber) Woollard. He grew up in Grants Pass, Oregon, and graduated from Bend High School in 1963.

Bob began his military career with the Oregon Army National Guard (ANG) in 1966. While in Corvallis, Bob worked for the U.S. Forest Service on the OSU campus, enrolled in classes there and graduated in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in botany. That same year, Bob completed the rigorous Officer Candidate School program and was awarded a reserve commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Bob steadily moved up the ranks, then in 1974, he was transferred to Alaska ANG and assigned as a company commander, and a year later, promoted to captain. It was at this point in his career that Bob devoted himself entirely to an active-duty career in the ANG. Captain Woollard would go on to serve in many different capacities, in many different locations.

In 1980, Captain Woollard resigned from Alaska ANG to be a full-time graduate student at Northern Arizona University, and to be a "traditional" officer with the Arizona ANG. He graduated from NAU with an MBA in 1982.

Colonel Woollard's last assignment before retirement from Army active duty was Chief of the Army's Logistics Operations center in the Pentagon. In the same year he retired from the Army, Bob also completed his master's in education.

After retiring in 2001, he taught sixth-grade math for four years. Due to increasing Parkinson's symptoms, he received a medical retirement in 2004.

Bob married Patricia in 1998, and they moved to Sisters in 2009. He was active in Kiwanis, Habitat for Humanity, Sisters Band of Brothers, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and Camp Sherman Chapel in the Pines.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia; mother Lucille Woollard of Redmond; sisters Marilyn (Jerry) Gerdes of Redmond and Bettie (Paul) of Eugene; brother Dan (Monetta) of LaGrande; step-daughter Heather (Lt. Col. John) Hawbaker of Fayetteville, NC; and grandchildren Holly, Jesse, and Hannah, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to Sisters Kiwanis, Partners in Care, Visiting Angels or the charity of your choice.