Louise Ann Woodall, the daughter of Edgar and Grace (Buchholz) Merrill, was born November 14, 1929 in Sioux Rapids, IA. She spent a happy childhood in Sioux Rapids, where she attended elementary school with some fine teachers. At an early age, she decided to allow Jesus Christ to become a part of her life and became a member of the Methodist Church. In 1943, the family moved to a farm in the Cornell community. She graduated from Cornell High School in 1947. She received two years of elementary education at Sioux Falls College. Louise eventually earned her B.A. Degree from the Iowa State Teacher’s College in Cedar Falls, IA. Her teaching career started at Hurley, SD, followed by Webb & Cornell, IA and Tuba City, AZ, where she taught on the Navajo Indian Reservation which was a big adventure of her life. Later she moved to Sioux City and Sutherland, where she remained on the teaching staff for 32 years.
She married Donald (Bill) Woodall on June 15, 1966 in Webb, IA. This marriage was blessed with two sons: Philip of Sutherland and John of Hartley. She was a longtime member of the Church of Christ in Sutherland, where she was a member of the Christian Workers and also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary. Her forte was music and she played piano and organ for several churches in her lifetime. Louise loved reading to children, handiwork and baking bread. She aimed to make a loving home for her family. She was also thankful for her church family and finding opportunities to do good for them.
Louise passed away at the Prairie View Home in Sanborn on Friday, December 30, 2022 at the age of 93. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald in 2009 and a brother, Lowell Merrill.
Left to cherish her memory are her two sons: Philip (Beth) Woodall of Sutherland, IA and John (Amy) Woodall of Hartley, IA; one grandson, Ben Woodall; one granddaughter, Abby Woodall; one step grandson, Mitchell Mick of Luverne, MN; one step granddaughter, Cassie (Patrick) Griswold of Elizabethtown, IL; a sister-in-law, Bonnie Merrill of Hawarden, IA; other relatives and many friends.
Services were at 10:30 A.M., Saturday, January 7, 2023 at the Church of Christ in Sutherland, Iowa with Pastor John Erickson officiating.
Interment was at Waterman Cemetery in Sutherland, Iowa