Sybil O'Gray Woodruff

Shreveport, LA - A celebration of the life of Mrs. Sybil O'Gray Woodruff, 91, will be held at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 at Rose-Neath's Southside Chapel. Reverend Freddie Williford will be officiating. Interment will follow at Forest Park East Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be held from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 at the funeral home. Mrs. Woodruff was born on April 22, 1924 to Robert and Sue Eakes in Oxford, NC. She passed away on December 26, 2015 in Shreveport, LA. An elementary school teacher for over thirty-five years, Mrs. Woodruff received her Bachelor's in education from East Carolina Teacher's College and her Master's degree from LSU. For twenty-seven years of her teaching career, Mrs. Woodruff taught fifth-grade at Judson Street Elementary and served as Director of the choir, which she created her second year at the school. Her devotion to her students and the creative energy she gave to the musicals, operettas, and other programs she helped them perform throughout the community characterized her as the sort of teacher former students will not forget, with many attributing their love of music to her efforts. A 1981 article in the Shreveport Times characterized this extraordinary woman as a "legend in her time." Keeping beat with the snappy tunes, smiling broadly, Mrs. Woodruff enjoyed herself as much as her students. "It's lucky for Shreveport," the article concluded, "that Dan Woodruff brought his bride back to his home town years ago." Mrs. Woodruff was preceded in death by her loving husband of 56 years, George Daniel Woodruff, Sr.; their infant son Robert Charles Woodruff; their granddaughter Chandra B. Trahan; and her three brothers and four sisters. She is survived by her son George D. Woodruff, Jr. and spouse Dr. Deborah Moreland; daughter Carole W. Broussard, grandchildren Troy Broussard, Dr. Chad Woodruff, and Dr. Elissa Woodruff; great grandchildren Marley Trahan, Carson Woodruff, and Sierra Woodruff; and her siblings Robert Eakes, Jr., and Imogene Currin. Honoring Sybil as pallbearers will be Troy Broussard, Chad Woodruff, Elissa Woodruff, Deborah Moreland, Mark Trahan, and Charles Laster. Honorary pallbearer is Bobby Laster.