Elizabeth G. Woodford

Elizabeth “Betty” Gannon Woodford, of Centreville, MD, passed away at Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, MD on Monday, November 5, 2007. She was 78 years old. The eldest child of Thomas C. Gannon and Nellie Connolly Gannon, she was born on July 3, 1929 at Easton, MD. She graduated from Centreville High School in the Class of 1946, and from Beacom Business College, Wilmington, DE in 1948. She then became a legal secretary and for four years she was secretary to Joseph H. Flanzer, in Wilmington. Upon her marriage she moved to Centreville and became secretary for T. Hughlett Henry, Sr. and T. Hughlett Henry, Jr. in Easton, MD. While living in Centreville, Mrs. Woodford was an active member and chairman of a Homemaker’s Club. She frequently won prizes for her baked products and for little girl’s smocked dresses. She was a stay-at-home mom until her children were both out of school. During that time she was an active parent at Timonium Elementary School where she was Chairman of the May Day Program for six years; a member of the Curriculum Committee, and a Home Room Mother for twelve years. Mrs. Woodford was a volunteer at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center; and was a member of the Women’s Eastern Shore Society of Baltimore and Chairman of the Queen Anne’s County Chapter. She was a docent and a member of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Engineering Society of Baltimore. She also was Chairman of the Women’s Program for the National American Society of Civil Engineers National Structures Conference in Baltimore. While living in the Baltimore area, Mrs. Woodford was an active communicate of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Ruxton, where she was a Sunday School teacher, kitchen chairman and chairman of the Annual Parish Dinner. After moving back to Centreville in 1978 she was again an active communicate of St. Paul’s Parish and served on various committess. She was a member of the Mid Shore Symphony Board and was Queen Anne’s County Chairman for nine years; a member and docent for the Queen Anne’s County Historical Society; and a Board Member for the Crossroads Community. She served as Vice President and President of the Centreville High School Alumni Association, chairman for its Annual Dinner for four years, and hosted all of the reunions of the Class of 1946 over the past thirty years. In 1973 Mrs. Woodford graduated from the Realtor’s Institute and embarked upon a successful real estate career. She first was an agent with Grempler Realty in Towson and then became President and Broker of Record of Woodford & Associates in Towsons. When she moved back to Centreville she was an Associate Broker with the Linwood C. Yates Company and then with Rosendale Realty. She again became President and Broker of Record of Woodford & Associates in Centreville, which she later sold to Chesapeake Land Company of Chestertown. For the last twelve years she has been an Associate Broker with Tidewater Properties, Queenstown. She has been an active member and a member of various committees of the Maryland Board of Realtors, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, the Queen Anne’s County Board of Realtors and the Bay Area Association of Realtors. Although she handled commercial properties her specialty was residential property, especially older properties in and around Centreville. She sold 53 properties within the Town of Centreville, some several times. On February 16, 1952, she married Walter E. “Woody” Woodford, Jr. In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, Walter Wallace Woodford, Timonium, Maryland, and Thomas Kevin Woodford, Fallston, Maryland; grandsons, Joshua B. Woodford, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Jason T. Woodford and Justin M. Woodford, both of Timonium, Maryland; a granddaughter, Angelina M. Woodford, Fallston, Maryland and a brother, John F. Gannon, Dillwyn, Virginia. She was predeceased by a sister, Dorothy Gannon Gohr of Atlanta and a brother, Thomas N. Gannon of Centreville, MD. The family will receive friends on Friday, November 9, 2007 from 6 – 9 PM at the Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, 408 S. Liberty Street, Centreville, MD. A Memorial Service will be conducted on Saturday, November 17, 2007 at 10:00 AM at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 301 S. Liberty Street, Centreville, MD. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Building Expansion Fund, P.O. Box 278, Centreville, MD 21617 or to the American Cancer Fund, P.O. Box 1306, Easton, MD 21601.