Vernon Leroy Woodruff

Our father left this world on Tuesday morning, December 21, 2021, at the age of 83. He was born on June 18, 1938 in Los Angeles, California to Edwin Woodruff (1914-1990) and Bessie Anna Quiggle (1915-1997). He was the youngest of three children, pre-deceased by his oldest sister, Sylvia Jean Woodruff (Frappier) (1936-2019), and survived by his sister, Patricia Joann Woodruff (Ollinger) (1937-).

Vernon is survived by his wife, Laura Nan (Willms-Miller) Woodruff, his four children; June Lea Woodruff (Parker) of San Pedro, Paula Rachel Woodruff (Rivello) of Mission Viejo, Daniel Vernon Samuel Edwin Woodruff of Lake Arrowhead, and Sue Lyn Woodruff of Crestline, and his stepdaughter, Megan Willms Miller of Black Forest, CO, nine grandchildren; Jonathan Thomas Parker, Samuel John Rivello (Stevie Nichole (Lippen) Rivello), Joshua James Parker, Lauren Elizabeth Parker, Ian Scott Woodruff (Christina (Crabtree) Woodruff), Cody Edwin Woodruff, Shelby Rose Woodruff, Edward Wolfgang Auer, Freya Lyn Auer, and three great-grandchildren; Reese Aubrey Rivello, Chloe Rose Castrillion, Trixie Castrillion. He graduated from Narbonne High School in Lomita and was married and had children at a young age. He married Beverly June Dugan (10/18/1937 – 04/27/2016) in 1956 and they had four children (he became a father on his 19th birthday). He re-married in 1972 and was pre-deceased by his second wife, Judy (Newton-Saylor) Woodruff and his stepson Scott Saylor. He married his long-time, partner and companion of over 24 years, Nan (Willms-Miller) Woodruff, in 2017 in a ceremony with their family at their home in Lake Elsinore. Vernon and Nan met later in life and enjoyed many years together having adventures in travel (they loved the beach and made trips to Hawaii, summers in Oceanside, visiting family in Oregon, and Northern California), hours driving in Vernon’s beloved 380SL Mercedes-Benz convertible - with a 500 engine - (which they named, Mariah), many family events and welcoming grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They were best friends and Nan was the light of his life and his primary caregiver in recent years. They shared a lot of love and laughter together.

Vernon was a 2nd generation native of southern California (mother, Bessie was born in Hollywood, CA) growing up on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lomita. He was also a long-time resident of Long Beach, Laguna Beach, and Lake Elsinore (2002-2021). His paternal Great-grandfather, Archibald Bell, was a pioneer, settler, farmer and horse rancher in Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. His grandmother, Ruby Elizabeth Bell, married Charles (Bernice) Woodruff who died at a young age and Ruby and her son, Edwin, eventually moved to California. His maternal Great-grandparents emigrated from England to Canada and eventually to the U.S.

In his younger days, Vernon loved bodysurfing at the beach (that was a big part of family outings), camping with his family at Yosemite & Lake Tahoe (his Dad loved fishing at Lake Tahoe) - and was a huge car buff. He owned a pristine ’57 Chevrolet BelAir (many family Sunday drives in that car), a ’73 Chevrolet Monte Carlo (two of those), had a TransAm for years and then upgraded to the Mercedes-Benz - and that became his pride and joy of cars. He took care of all his cars very meticulously, inside, and out – as he did everything else – and he was very knowledgeable and mechanically-inclined. Later in life he became interested in photography and took classes at Golden West College along with Spanish to help him on his travels (and in his younger days, took classes in drafting). He took many great photographs in nature and even did some work for his company catalog and trade shows. He was skilled in DIY projects at home; painting, wood refinishing, fixing anything, and he made furniture in his younger years. He worked on the first DC-10 tri-jet wide-body airliner project at McDonnell Douglas in Los Angeles. He worked for many years at Lomita Lumber Company on Pacific Coast Highway as Sales Manager and was great friends with the owner, Dave Wilkinson, and family. He spent 37 years in the diesel engine parts aftermarket industry working for: Detroit Diesel, Diesel Control, FP Diesel, and a long tenure with Federal Mogul and Meridien Parts Corp. He traveled all over the world training sales reps on their products (Japan, China, Argentina, England, Switzerland) and he loved being a world traveler. He was a very dedicated, hard-working man. He retired in 2002 at the age of 64.

Vernon was very involved in the Lomita Jaycees during the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s. He cherished those years, the friendships he made, and he considered the experience a valuable education in business and service in his community. He worked on Jaycees events like the Miss Lomita Pageant and the Lomita Parade. He was also involved in the YMCA Indian Guides program with his son. He had some bucket list items which he completed in recent years; he went sky diving in Perris, CA, and went on a flight in a P51 glider(!) He was a big fan of Dodgers baseball. This past summer, he hosted a family “Dodger Day” to watch the game at his home complete with hot dogs, nachos, ice cream and all the snack bar goodies!

He was a very sweet, kind, generous, loyal, and loving man, and father – always there for the people he loved and willing to help people less fortunate. After first meeting him, people would say “What a sweet man he is.” He had a sharp wit - and hilarious sense of humor. He was the king of corny jokes, silly puns, and had a great, infectious laugh. His family will miss that smile and his laughter, but his spark will live on in all who loved him. It was his joy later in life to see his beautiful great-granddaughters growing up and he would have a sparkle in his eye – and his heart got even softer - whenever they came to visit.

Vernon passed peacefully in the early morning under hospice care with lung disease. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends and will always be lovingly remembered as a sweet person and kind soul. His joyful light will shine on in our hearts forever.

A private interment service with the family will be held on Wednesday, December 29th at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. A Celebration of Life memorial will be hosted by his family at a future date. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, please select a hospice organization of your choice to support.