Daniel Woods

Daniel Hon Woods, 91, of Little Rock passed from this life on Thursday, April 2, 2020. He was born Thursday, August 9, 1928 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the late John Powell Woods Sr. and Mabel Fairfax (Hon) Woods, the youngest of four boys. Dan is a 1945 graduate of Fort Smith Senior High School.

Dan completed his BA degree from University of Arkansas in 1949 where he lettered in track. Subsequently, he served as a member of the editorial staff of the Arkansas Law Review in law school. However, he took time out to serve his country in the United States Army during the Korean War, serving as Infantry Company Commander. After graduating from University of Arkansas School of Law in 1953, he joined Timex Corporation in Little Rock.

Dan married his college sweetheart, Dorothy Frances Woods, also of Fort Smith, in April of 1952. They were married for 62 years before Dorothy's death in November of 2014. They were both devoted to their Lord and enjoyed serving others, both individually and through First Christian Church and later Fellowship Bible Church, both in Little Rock.

Mr. Woods had a long and successful career with Timex, serving as Human Resource Director and Legal Administrator, handling legal and labor relations and working with Timex's Corporate Legal Department on governmental affairs. Upon his retirement in 1992, Woods received the prestigious Lehmkuhl Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service.

Woods was actively involved in helping to shape much of the state's unemployment insurance legislation from 1958 to 2015. He also was a significant voice in major workers compensation reforms over several decades. He served as President of the Arkansas Personnel Association (now the Central Arkansas Human Resources Association) in 1960 and was Legislative Chairman from 1961-1983. He received the first annual Outstanding Member Award from the Association in 1973.

In 1995, Mr. Woods was awarded the Honorary Lifetime Board Member Award from the Associated Industries of Arkansas (AIA), where he was chairman of the Unemployment Compensation Committee from 1963-2016. He was a member of the Board of Directors from 1972-1995, serving as chairman in the early 1990s. Under his leadership, the AIA, jointly with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, purchased its own offices for the first time, near the State Capitol Building.

Over the decades, beginning with Governor Orval Faubus, Dan responded when the state's governors asked him to serve on state commissions. In 1958, Governor Faubus appointed Dan to the State Advisory Council for the Employment Security Department (now Arkansas Department of Workforce Services). At the time, tensions ran high between organized labor and management, but Dan was a calming voice between the two sides. That was the beginning of a 58 year continuous stint of dedicated service on the council. When he stepped down in 2016 for health reasons, he held the record for the longest-serving member of any unemployment insurance advisory council in the history of the United States. On the day of his final council meeting, the council declared March 11, 2016 "Dan Woods Day" and presented him with several awards. Dan joked that he was "going to need a bigger apartment" to display his new plaques.

Governor Winthrop Rockefeller appointed Dan to the newly formed Arkansas Vocational-Technical Education Advisory Council, where he served as its chairman from 1969 to 1971. Dan remained with the council until 1978 following reappointment by Governors Dale Bumpers and David Pryor. He also served on the Governor's Council on Human Resources (Governor Rockefeller) and on the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Governors Bumpers, Pryor, and then-governor Bill Clinton appointed Dan to the Governor's Study Commission on Arkansas Workers Compensation, and Governor Frank White appointed Dan to the Arkansas Student Loan Authority.

In addition to his civil service, Dan was also involved in his community. He was elected as a member of the Little Rock School Board in 1967, and he served as president of the board from 1970-1971. He also served as a board member for the Opportunities Industrialization Center, Arkansas Tuberculosis Association (now Arkansas Lung Association), American Cancer Society (Pulaski County Unit), St. Jude Children's Hospital (Little Rock Chapter), and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind.

Dan loved to write, filling numerous journals with details of his life, family, and current events. He joked that he wasn't creative enough to write fiction, although he was a huge fan of John Grisham's legal fiction and would have loved to write books like Grisham's. Dan was commissioned to write the Fifty Year History of Timex in Little Rock in 1995 (published in 1996), not anything like Grisham, but a work that Dan was proud of.

He wasn't all work and no play. Dan was an Eagle Scout and served as Scoutmaster for several years. He played catcher on Timex softball teams, and if the subject came up he would be sure to remind you that Timex won seven state championships while he played. He also came to the rescue when his daughter's softball team needed a coach, teaching many girls over three years how to become competent and even excellent players and how to have fun along the way. He and Dorothy were part of a square dancing group for years; there are many hilarious photographs of them decked out to dance. Dan loved to play harmonica. He was still playing in his nineties, along with his beloved cornet (he still sounded good!) Dan loved to go on vacation, planning every mile and minute. Dorothy loved the Florida beaches, and he took her and the family almost every year. And, oh, how he loved his Razorbacks!!

His greatest joys in life were his family and his Lord. He served for many years as a teacher and elder at First Christian Church. Subsequently, he and Dorothy became members of Fellowship Bible Church, where Dan was well known as a community group leader and elder. After retiring, Dan traveled to Haiti and to Honduras on mission trips for Fellowship. He and Dorothy also spent all the time they could with their daughters and grandchildren, not only the family in Little Rock, but also making numerous trips to Tennessee and Arizona.

In his later years, Dan recorded his personal testimony. He noted "all that really matters is my faith, my relationship with Jesus Christ, my family, my church, and my witness and lifestyle." As a result, he stated, he lived in peace and confidence that God is in control. He had no fear regarding his future or death, as he claimed the promises of Jesus Christ.

Dan was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Dorothy Frances Woods, and his brothers, Gaines William Woods, Sr., John Powell Woods, Jr., and Pendleton Woods. He is survived by his three daughters, Terry Lynn Woods of Flintstone, Georgia, Dana Leigh Adams (Nick) of Little Rock, and Carol Denise Frazier (Rich) of Chandler, Arizona; granddaughters, Corrie Christina Winn (Jason), Haven Nicole Frazier, Leanna Beth Crow (Dustin) and Mallory Hope Frazier; grandsons, Justin Hon Adams (Christa), Shaun Daniel Adams (Mandi) and Jonathan Christian Frazier; and six great-grandchildren.

Dan Woods was many things to many people. He loved to talk and never met a stranger. He was always quick with a story (even if you had heard it before!) He was wise and welcoming, curious and involved. He was a mentor to many--not just his children and grandchildren, but to many others through work, community, and church. He will be sorely missed by all who were privileged to know him.

A private burial will be held April 11th. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, August 15 at 1:00 p.m. at Fellowship Bible Church.

Click on link to view the livestream of Dan's service:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/149Cop8KNcTUdMAPycuE_1B7B6w5W_W9L/view?usp=sharing

Arrangements by Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct., Little Rock, Arkansas 72205. (501) 224-2200. Dan's online guestbook may be accessed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com