Lee E. Woodruff

Lee Elroy Woodruff, age 92 of Prior Lake, formerly of Le Sueur, began his next great adventure on Feb. 7, 2015 after a brief illness and at home surrounded by family. Funeral services will be on Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the Zion United Church of Christ in Le Sueur, MN, Rev. Kenneth Meyer officiating. Visitation will be on Friday, from 4-8 p.m. at the Kolden Funeral Home in Le Sueur and 1 hour prior to the services at the church on Saturday morning. Military Honors will follow the church service in the parking lot of Zion United Church of Christ. Interment will be at a later time in Mound Cemetery, Le Sueur. Lee was born on July 20, 1922 to George Porter Woodruff and Georgia Anna Fleming Woodruff, he joined 6 older siblings on the 160 acre Woodruff farm in Ridott Township, Stephenson County, Illinois. From his one-room school house elementary to his graduation with a BS from Iowa State University in 1950, he learned to value education and the doors it opens. Prior to serving in the Army Air Corps from 1943-1946 as an airplane mechanic, Lee worked in manufacturing building B26 and B24 bombers and became a licensed pilot. In 1946, while attending Platteville Teachers' College, he met Carol Jean Biddick who would become his life partner, the mother of his children and his constant companion. Lee and Carol were married on November 11, 1951 and raised their children, David (Trish Townsdin), Donna (Rick Cervantes) and Daniel (Jodi) Woodruff in the Green Giant communities of Montgomery, Glencoe and Le Sueur, Minnesota and Dayton, Washington. After a satisfying 31 year career Lee retired from Green Giant leadership but was asked to continue providing consulting expertise. This took Lee and Carol to France for four summers and to Venezuela twice. Lee gladly left behind the horse-power era of his childhood for the automobile and fully restored a 1930 Model A sedan, a 1955 Thunderbird convertible, a 1948 Plymouth coupe and a 1931 Model A Ford roadster. Their cars could often be seen in local parades and regional shows. Their meticulous work on the roadster earned Lee and Carol the coveted First Place Grand National Award in the 1995 Grand National AACA meet. In retirement, Lee and Carol built a home on Lake Volney which served as the center of the universe for their children and grandchildren (Brooke (Justin) Spain, Bailey Woodruff, Patrick Woodruff, Ariana Cervantes and Marisa Cervantes). Lee and Carol's retirement meant being a cherished and active presence in all of their grandchildren's lives, as well as, actively car-clubbing and traveling throughout the country and the world. Their travel took them from the Far East to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe, Alaska, Hawaii, across the continental U.S.A. and throughout the Caribbean and Mexico. For 18 winters they called Coronado Island, CA home. Moving to Prior Lake in 2004, Lee and Carol added many new friends to their already large portfolio of those who love them. There they created a new center of the universe for their great-grandsons, Jacob and Brady Spain. Lee was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings. Suggested memorials are the American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund or the Le Sueur Zion United Church of Christ. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Beatrice Woodruff of Pearl City, IL and brothers-in-law, Paul (Lila) Biddick of Fennimore, WI and Gary (Mary) Biddick of Fennimore, WI.