Dr. John Pershing "Doc" Woodbridge 1920 - 2005

DREIBELBIS, WOODBRIDGE, CORNELIUS

Posted By: Connie Swearingen -Volunteer (email)
Date: 1/31/2019 at 17:46:08

Sioux City Journal
3 November 2005

PIERSON, Iowa -- Dr. John P. "Doc" Woodbridge, 85, of Pierson died Monday, Oct. 31, 2005, at a Sioux City hospital.

Services will be 2 p.m. Friday at Pierson United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Bill Cotton officiating. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with the family present 5 to 7 p.m. and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Rohde-Earnest Funeral Home in Kingsley, Iowa.

John Pershing Woodbridge was born Feb. 5, 1920, in Newton County, Mo., the son of Joseph Er Woodbridge and Pearl (Dreibelbis) Woodbridge. When he was 3, the family moved by covered wagon to a farm northeast of New Mexico and later to Fort Sumner, N.M., for seven years. He was baptized in the Church of Christ in Fort Sumner, N.M. When he was 17, they moved to Huntsville, Ark., where he graduated from high school. He returned to New Mexico to attend New Mexico State University at Las Cruces. He was always active in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. He was on the judging team at NMSU and got to go on many memorable trips.

While a junior in college, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, but stayed in school until he graduated with a degree in animal husbandry in 1943. He served in the U.S. Army with basic training at Paris, Texas, and was then assigned to the Army Special Training Program (ASTP) at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine at Manhattan, Kan. He was honorably discharged from the Army in July 1944 and graduated from KSU with a doctor of veterinary medicine degree in January 1946.

He began his veterinary career in Pierson in January 1946. He married Lorna Marie Cornelius in Manhattan, Kan. on July 21, 1946. Doc thoroughly enjoyed the practice of veterinary medicine in Pierson and the surrounding area for 40 years, retiring in the fall of 1985.

He placed a high value on education and served on the Pierson School board for one term when the gym was added onto the Pierson School. Helping young farmers with their Future Farmers of American or 4-H animals and projects was one of his greatest pleasures.

Dr. J.P. was a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Iowa VMA and Northwest Iowa VMA. He served on the board of the Iowa VMA. He also was a member of Interstate Veterinary Medical Association and served as president one term. He was on the Pierson town council for 30 years. He was a member of the American Legion in Pierson. He was a member of the Woodbury County Fair board, where he spent a number of years on the executive board and served as president for five years. He was always fond of horses and for several seasons had a chuck wagon team, racing at various events. He had a cow-calf operation, specializing in the new exotic breeds. He was a founding member of the North American Limousin Foundation and a charter member of the Iowa Limousin Association.

Survivors include his wife, Lorna of Pierson; a son, Ricke Woodbridge, DVM and his wife, Debbie of Ardmore, Okla.; daughters, Glenda Hill and her husband, Gene of Sioux City, Jonita Woodbridge Jacobsen, DVM, and her husband, Alan of Sioux City and Janie Johlman and her husband, Ed of Wheatland, Wyo. (both Glenda and Janie have degrees in education); eight grandchildren; a brother, Mark Otis Woodbridge of Huntsville, Ark.; and three adopted sisters, Mary Jo Hankla, Sharon Pope and Roberta Box, all of Huntsville, Ark.

He was preceded in death by his parents; five sisters; and two brothers.