Woodrow Gosnell Obituary (1928 - 2016)

Woodrow (Woody) Gosnell 87, of Mt. Zion, IL died Monday evening, March 28, 2016, in St. Mary's Hospital with his family by his side. A service to celebrate Woody's life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday April 4, 2016, at Dawson & Wikoff Funeral Home, Mt. Zion with Rev. Mike Wakeland officiating. The family will receive friends for a time of visitation at 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the funeral home. Burial will be in the Mt. Zion Township Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church Memorial Committee, Mt. Zion Lion's Club or the Mt. Zion Odd Fellows Lodge #300. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.dawson-wikoff.com. Woody was born December 4, 1928, in Decatur, IL the son of Floyd and Lois (Trimble) Gosnell. He started school at Mound School in Decatur. The family moved to Mt. Zion in 1941 where he graduated from high school. He began his work career at Sangamo Auto, Sullivan garage and went on to attend DeVry Technical School in Chicago where he studied to become a television technician. He sold and serviced TV's for 19 years. He then went on to work for the Mt. Zion Post Office where he started the first walking route in the village. He retired in 1989. Woody helped with the Boy Scouts, had served on the Mt. Zion Planning, and Zoning Board, and had served on the village board for sixteen years. He was a member of the Mt. Zion Lion's Club, Mt. Zion Odd Fellows Lodge #300, and the South Macon Masonic Lodge #467. He had built their home on Route 121 where they still lived. Woody enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and gardening. Woody married Virginia (Ginny) Gordon on November 10, 1951. He leaves his wife Ginny and their three children: Doug (Cathy) Gosnell of Saybrook, IL, Tim (Sandy) Gosnell of Decatur, and Amy Gosnell (Mark Scranton) of Mt. Zion; brothers: Dewey (Mary) Gosnell of Decatur, Oz (Judy) Gosnell of Saybrook; sisters: Irene Clow (Dick) of Okeechobee, FL, Dee Wendel (Dee) of Mt. Zion and Linda Smith of North Carolina; grandchildren: Dan, Stephanie, Sarah, Sabrina, Stacey, Melissa, Erin, Tony, Terry, and Kim; great-grandchildren: Jaron, Toby, Haven, Colin, Leo, Alex, Drew, Devin, Payton, and Mikalyn. He was preceded in death by his parents, grandson: Nicholas and great grandson: Skyler.