Mark Lee Woodbury
September 13, 1925 – September 13, 2018
Mark Lee Woodbury died peacefully in his home in Oakland on September 13th, 2018. It was his 93rd birthday.
A native New Englander, he was an avid outdoorsman, Sierra Club hike leader, map enthusiast, high school English teacher, political junkie, and eclectic songster who imparted to friends and family his love of words, of singing, of nature, of justice, of humor and so much more.
Born in Schenectady, New York, Mark grew up in Hingham, Massachusetts and early on discovered a love of wild places. As a boy, he was smitten by the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine. He also embarked at a young age on what would prove a wonderful roster of travels, voyaging with his parents on the Saint Lawrence Seaway and to the Caribbean Islands.
After serving in the Navy during WWII on the USS Siboney, he attended Reed College, roomed with beat poets Gary Snyder and Phillip Whalen, and befriended the Murie brothers, with whom he climbed and skied in the Grand Tetons. Mark went on to complete his Bachelor's degree in English at UC Berkeley, in 1962.
In Berkeley, in the 1950s, Mark helped start a folk singing group and formed lifelong friendships strengthened by a shared commitment to civil rights and environmentalism. He met the like-minded Marda Liggett at the Unitarian Singles and the two were married in 1956. He also started exploring the many hiking trails of the Bay Area with the Sierra Club.
After receiving his degree, Mark went on to teach English at De Anza and Richmond High Schools, in later years branching out into a popular comedy course, and a class in "Western Days & Ways," enriched by his sabbatical trip rafting the Colorado River in 1975.
Throughout much of his adult life, he continued his own studies at UC Berkeley, via extension and audited courses, where he pursued his passion for history and politics, and applied himself to the discipline of nature photography. The history of California and of naturalism held particular appeal for him.
Although Mark and Marda divorced in 1966, they continued to be collegial friends. Mark was a devoted dad, loyal son and brother, taking his children Brian and Heather on extraordinary backpacking and camping journeys, to the Olympic Mountains, Yosemite and Alaska, and for frequent visits to family on the East Coast.
After retiring, Mark enjoyed more travel (from Russia to Bermuda and in between, his favorite big town, New York City). He led Sierra Club hikes and was active in environmental efforts: statewide, helping to pass the 1984 California Wilderness Act and the1982 Measure to defeat the Peripheral Canal, and locally, cleaning Lake Merritt and protecting the bay. He took up bicycling, going on numerous trips with his sweetheart Dolores, whom he met while on a hike. He was involved with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, singing in the choir. He also sang in the Contra Costa Chorale. He co-founded the "Eclectic Songsters" and a current affairs discussion group, which he carried on into his late 80s.
Mark was pre-deceased by his parents David O. Woodbury and Margaret L. Southard, and by his sisters Virginia Miller and Juliet "Due" Woodbury and brother Thomas Woodbury. He is survived by his brothers Peter and Chris Woodbury, stepson Mark Evans, his son and daughter Brian and Heather Woodbury and their spouses Elma Mayer and Roberto Palazzo, his grandchildren Juniper and Moss Woodbury, his nephews Tony and Patrick Woodbury, and his beloved Dolores Gruenewald, long-time companion and light of his life for the past 25 years.
A memorial service in his honor will be held on Sunday, November 11th, 2:00 - 4:00 PM in the Fireside Room at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd, Kensington, CA 94707. On-site reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please dedicate donations in his name to the Sierra Club.
