Colonel Henry Hall (Hank) Woolard, Jr.

Hank Woolard, age 89, passed away on June 17th from complications of congestive heart failure. He was preceded in death by his daughter Kim and is survived by his wife of 67 years, Barbara Harwell Woolard, his daughter Cathy and her wife, Karen Geney; his son Jack and his wife Gail and their children Wil and Abby Woolard and Kim’s daughter Kelly O’Neill; his sister Priscilla Sperry, her husband Gil; his brother Buddy Woolard; and many nieces and nephews.

Hank was born and raised in Sylvester, Georgia, attended Georgia Military College and graduated from the University of Georgia before joining the Air Force. He married Barbara in 1952. They took off to see the world, with three kids and many dogs joining their adventures.

After retiring from the Air Force, Hank started a new career as a realtor with Thibadeau Burton Realtors. He received the Mary Nelson Distinguished Service Award and was the DeKalb Board’s Realtor of the Year. He lived his life with involvement, commitment and concern for others.

Hank loved his Georgia Bulldogs. He wanted to see the Dawgs win the National Championship this year and to see sanity return to politics, but he gave away so much of his heart to others that he wore it out and left those things for us to do. He passed along his love of country as a retired Air Force Colonel with 32 years of active duty. Hank was devoted to community service, especially as a champion for those seeking peace and justice like new Americans and refugees of any faith and country of origin. He was a great cook and had a passion for good food and wine, preferably consumed outdoors in another country. We already miss him more than we can stand, but we will carry on his unfinished business with renewed dedication.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to organizations he loved like Fugees Family, Inc. (www.fugeesfamily.org), New American Pathways (www.newamericanpathways.org), the Center for the Visually Impaired (www.cviga.org), the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (www.ocrahope.org) and Oak Grove United Methodist Church (www.ogumc.org). He also wouldn’t mind if you preferred to give time and treasure to places you love because, as he said often, “service is the rent you pay for being here”.

Hank’s life will be celebrated as he wished, with a memorial service at Oak Grove United Methodist Church on Friday, June 28, 2019 at 11am with full military honors. A reception will follow. After that, we will follow Hank’s direction and “Press On!”

Feel free to leave the family your condolences via the guestbook provided.