James 'Norris' Woods

James Norris Woods, was born on January 13, 1939, in Mountain Grove, Missouri, to Earl and Faye (Woodward) Woods. He departed this life on November 24, 2015, in Vanzant, Missouri. He was 76 years, 10 months, and 12 days of age. Norris graduated from Cabool High School in 1957. He was united in marriage to Ilene Coble on July 3, 1959, in Cabool, Missouri. Three children were born to this union.
Norris enjoyed being outside, whether he was farming, hunting, fishing, or exploring the West. He loved telling his great hunting stories to everyone who gathered around him. He enjoyed elk hunting in Colorado with his son and grandsons. He loved to catch the most and biggest bass in Oklahoma and area lakes in the spring. When he was young, he loved coon hunting and won many trophies. He loved taking his grandchildren around on his 4-wheeler to show them his beef farm.
Norris was well-known for his banjo-picking. He loved to jam every Thursday evening with his friends at the Vanzant Community Building. He was an outstanding singer who loved to sing lead and harmony in old time gospel tunes. He knew how to play the mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and banjo. He taught his children how to play along with him at an early age. Family gatherings often turned into bluegrass jams.

Norris and Ilene were attending the Cabool Assembly of God Church at the time of his passing.
Norris loved his family but there was a special place in his heart for his high school sweetheart and wife, Ilene, of 56 years. They enjoyed traveling, going to church, and working alongside each other on the farm. He also greatly loved and enjoyed his grandchildren. They would sit around his chair listening to his stories and laughing at all his jokes. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Besides his parents, Norris was preceded in death by two brothers: Paul Alvin Woods and Alfred Wayne Woods; and his brother-in-law: Bob Altis.
He is survived by his wife, Ilene (Coble) Woods of Mountain Grove, Missouri; his son: Buzz Woods and his wife, Sharon, of Ava, Missouri; two daughters: Lori (Woods) Lewis of Dupo, Illinois, and Teri (Woods) Walden and her husband, Kevin, of Columbia, Missouri; his 9 grandchildren: Wes Woods, Tonya (Woods) Virtue, Derek Wilkerson, Wade Woods, Megan Lewis, Esm (Campbell) Schuster, Shawn Wilkerson, Micah (Lewis) Corbin, and Cody Walden; 12 great-grandchildren; his brother: Herbert Woods and his wife, Imogene, of Springfield, Missouri; two sisters: Doris Jean (Woods) Altis of Forsyth, Missouri, and Karen (Woods) Warnick of Forsyth, Missouri; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and a multitude of friends.