‘We love each other dearly’

A new student dance at Nebraska Wesleyan in 1963 brought a chance meeting between Warren Woods and his wife Judy of Creston.

He said he was attracted to her because she was smart, winning several awards during that time, and active as the president of her sorority and in the school’s drama department.

Warren recalls that Judy was a good dancer, but they didn’t really “connect.” A few months later, however, he called her for a date and she accepted.

“I asked her if she was married yet. She laughed, so we started dating then,” Warren said.

Even then, romance didn’t bloom right away. They dated on and off for two more years until they graduated in 1966 and went their separate ways: she to Jefferson County, Colorado, for a teaching job and he to Cedar City, Utah, to work for the forest service.

They kept in touch and, in those days, Warren said, airfare was cheap so they were able to visit on weekends. Sometimes he would fly to visit her, sometimes she would come down to Utah to visit him.

On one of those visits, Thanksgiving of 1966, they got engaged. Sort of.

Warren said he didn’t remember the proposal being terribly romantic. They talked about getting married and then went to pick out a ring.

Warren didn’t have the money to purchase the engagement ring right away, so it had to wait. By the time he was able to buy it, Judy was back in Colorado and he had to mail the ring to her.

“She got engaged by mail, really,” Warren said.

Whether the engagement was romantic or not and in-person or not, it stuck. They were married July 8, 1967, and she has the ring to this day.

Warren had moved to Denver to work for J.C. Penney in April before they married. Judy continued to teach. As the years went by, Warren and Judy moved several more times, finally landing in Creston in 1984.

They spent their lives in Creston raising their two children and being involved in the community — each in their own way: Warren as the manager of Sernett Department Store, then in marketing and customer service at Gits Manufacturing and eight years as mayor; Judy teaching in several area schools, serving as principal at Cumberland-Massena and staying active in the community theater for many years.

Their schedules were often opposite, so they took turns cooking. Warren said his specialty was Chinese food. Judy loved to cook new things. Over the years she amassed quite a collection of cook books, Warren said, and they are all dog-eared from use.

After retiring, the couple spent some time traveiling in a motor home, staying in Texas for a month at a time. Warren said he really preferred Iowa to Texas. He likes the seasons. Even now if he could go out in the snow and cold, he would.

He said he used to love to use his snow blower to clean the driveway and sidewalks and often cleaned the neighbors’ sidewalks as well.

Judy liked to stay inside to read, Warren said, often reading three to four books a week.

They also traveled to places such as Spain, England and France, enjoying the local cuisine.

She liked to “eat what the locals ate. That was important to her,” he said.

With one exception — where ever she went, Judy liked to eat at McDonalds to see how it was different from the U.S., including beer at McDonald’s in Paris.

Valentine’s Day

Warren always tried to give Judy red roses for Valentine’s day and they would go out to eat together, even if it wasn’t the exact day.

“We didn’t normally go out quite on [Valentine’s day] so we didn’t have to fight the crowds,” he said.

This year, they may not get to spend the day together, as Judy has been in a nursing home for the past two months and the weather is too cold for Warren to go out.

He has been able to visit her twice a week for half an hour at a time until it got so cold. He said they sit and talk while he’s there.

“We love each other dearly ... I miss her terribly,” he said.