Woodard, Dr. and Mrs. Barney Lelon

Dr. and Mrs. Barney Lelon Woodard

Dr. Woodard lived in the Glendale community and attended Glendale School through the ninth grade. He graduated from Kenly High School. He worked on the farm doing chores that were necessary in rural farm life such as milking the cows and feeding the horses, mules, hogs and goats. Another chore was cutting and piling up wood for the cookstove and the fireplace. He also helped with the farming: cropping tobacco and hanging it up in the barn, chopping cotton, and the worst job of all, pulling fodder and taking it up and stacking it on Saturday night.

After graduation from high school, Dr. Woodard went to medical school. With his degree he came back to Kenly where he practiced medicine for 50 years. He retired in April 1990, to enjoy his family and his hobbies, fishing and boating. Although families worked hard together, there was time for recreation. Toys were not available and children had to create their own types of recreation. Dr. Woodard enjoyed riding the horses, and he and his brother, Cleon, built a wagon that was drawn by two goats for pleasure rides with their sisters, Rena and Clyda.

Dr. Woodard has always been very active in the Kenly community. He is a member of the Kenly Baptist Church, where he serves on the Deacon Board and the Kiwanis Club, where he has served as president. He was Master of the Kenly Masonic Lodge and director of Sudan Temple Shrine. He is a member of the Elks Club, North Carolina Medical Society and American Medical Association National Society. He was a president of the Johnston County Medical Society. He was on the staff of Woodard Herring and Carolina General Hospitals in Wilson and Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of The Heritage Bank. He was a Kenly town commissioner for 13 years and a mayor pro tem. His name is listed on a monument erected in Grady Park by patients and friends to honor our Kenly doctors. Dr. Woodard received 50-year pins from the Masonic Lodge, Sudan Temple, Kiwanis Club and the Johnston County Medical Society.

Betty Lee Ferrell Woodard was born on a farm near Selma and attended Selma School. She was one of seven children. Her father, Rev. Billy Ferrell, was a Free Will Baptist minister. He served many churches in Wilson and Johnston counties. Betty Lee remembers his advice to the children, "be careful of the company you keep," which she has used as a guide for her life. Mrs. Woodard's mother died in 1926 when she was very young. She lived with her brother and his wife, Bernard and Rebecca Askew Ferrell, until they moved away from Kenly. She is very grateful to Bernard and Rebecca for what they did for her. She worked as a nurse in Dr. Woodard's office until their marriage in 1960. She was a member of Kenly Free Will Baptist Church, but after they were married she moved her membership to Kenly Baptist Church where they are still very active.

Mrs. Woodard taught Sunday School at Kenly Free Will Baptist Church for several years. She enjoys music and is still active in the church choir. Her hobbies are singing and cooking, and she takes pride in keeping house and working with her flowers. Roses are her favorite. She loves people and enjoys doing things for others. She was president of the Kenly Baptist Morning Circle for three years. She received "Recognition of Achievement" and was commended for significant achievement in church music as an adult member in 1985. She has been on the hospitality committee of the WMU of Kenly Baptist Church for two years.

The Woodards have traveled in most of the states, including Hawaii and cruised to the Bahamas, Jamaica and Bermuda. They have also traveled to Holland and really enjoyed their travels.

DR. AND MRS. WOODARD ARE BEING HONORED WITH THIS MEMORIAL BY THEIR GRANDDAUGHTER, CATHERINE WOODARD FOR THEIR BIRTHDAYS IN JULY, 1990.