Obituary of Frederic Woodsome

For the last two years of his life, Rick Woodsome got to be something unexpected: a grandfather. Even though he'd been given a terminal diagnosis, he made it a point to spend time with his adopted granddaughter every weekend, whether it was going to the airport to watch planes, heading into the mountains for a weekend at a cabin or just going to breakfast. For Vika, who came to the United States from Ukraine when she was 8, Rick was the perfect grandpa. And for Rick, Vika was one very good reason to live a full life as long as he could. Frederic "Rick" Woodsome passed away Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 at the TRU Community Care Center in Louisville from prostate cancer. He was 68. Rick, a lifelong resident of Boulder, was always finding small ways to help everyone around him. From his volunteer work with Rocky Mountain Rescue or just making sure everyone was OK, everything he did was focused on helping others. So it was no surprise that he inspired friendship in others, like the co-workers at Intrado who finished his daughter's basement so the family could be together in his final months. But as anyone who knew him would say, he was also a little crazy, willing to take on any adventure. Sometimes that led to trouble he had as many lives as your average cat but he never regretted it. Rick was born Dec. 24, 1944 in Boulder to Frederic "Fred" Woodsome Jr. and Shirley Huber Woodsome. He graduated from Fairview High School at its original site on Baseline Road in 1963 and attended the University of Colorado Boulder. He married Jacqueline "Jacque" Sparkman in 1966 and they had one daughter, Holly. Rick spent his entire career working in public safety. He began in radio communications for Jefferson County and later owned several businesses involved in radio communications and 911 systems. For the last eight years he worked at Intrado in Longmont as a principal systems engineer. His hobbies also revolved around helping others. He served for many years with Rocky Mountain Rescue and Boulder County Amateur Radio Emergency Services. He also was a ham radio operator since junior high school and a long-time member of the Boulder Amateur Radio Club. Rick is survived by his daughter, Holly Woodsome Sroymalai, her husband Jirayu "Banc" Sroymalai; his granddaughter Viktoriya "Vika" Sroymalai; and members of his wife's family, including four sisters-in-law, four brothers-in-law, three Woodsome nieces and nephews and seven Sparkman nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Jacque, in 2004; a sister, Miriam Parsons; a brother, Troy Woodsome; and his parents. There will be a memorial service at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12 at the Chautauqua Community House, 900 Baseline Road in Boulder. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society for prostate cancer research (cancer.org); Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, rockymountainrescue.org or 3720 Walnut St., Boulder, 80301; TRU Community Care, trucare.org or 2594 Trailridge Drive East, Lafayette, CO 80026; or the Rick Woodsome Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Boulder Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 17362, Boulder, 80308.