Kathleen Mary Woods

KATHLEEN MARY MCCAFFREY WOODS, passed away on Saturday, October 14, 2017, she was 97 years' old. She was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on December 8, 1919, the daughter of Eugene and Emma McCaffrey. During the war years, she worked in the Newark office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where she met her future husband, U.S. District Judge Henry Woods, who was working as a special agent there. She and Henry Woods were married on January 1, 1943 in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, New York. Henry Woods often described her as the "sweetest woman he had ever known." She moved to Arkansas in 1946, where her husband set up his law practice and soon became campaign manager and executive secretary for Governor Sid McMath. She was a loving and supportive wife who, together with her husband, met the challenges that arose during the early years of the civil-rights movement. To this end, she was secretary-recorder for the Women's Emergency Committee and an active member of the Catholic Interfaith and Interracial Council. She was a devout Catholic and an accomplished soprano, who served as canter for many years for both Good Counsel and Christ the King Catholic churches. Most of all, she was a loving and devoted mother to her four children. She provided unconditional love, encouragement, and guidance to them throughout her entire life. She was preceded in death by her husband, Henry Woods, and her beloved sister, Eileen McCaffrey O'Sullivan, and brother-in-law, Joseph P. O'Sullivan, of Hutchinson Kansas; as well as her sister and brother-law, Harry and Sue Woods Graham of Coahoma, Mississippi, and son-in-law, Paul Edward Harrison of North Little Rock, Arkansas. She is survived by her children, Mary Sue Woods, Thomas Henry Woods (wife Marguerite), Eileen Woods Magness (husband Robert), and James Michael Woods (wife Becky); her grandchildren, Lauren Blackwood Kelley, Haley Harrison Spradlin, Elliot Henry Harrison, Aaron Woods Harrison, Mathew Henry Woods, Theresa Woods Latham, and Lydia Kathleen Woods; and great-grandchildren, Madison McVey, Emily Huitt, Joe Huitt, Anabelle Yates, and Eliljah Latham. Mass of Christian Burial will be at Christ the King Catholic Church at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 21, 2017; visitation from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. and a rosary service at 7 p.m. will be held at Griffin-Leggett, Haley and Roth Funeral home on Friday, October 20, 2017, located at 5800 West 12th Street Little Rock, Arkansas, 72204. In lieu of flowers memorial may be made to paralyzed veterans of America; Covenant House 611 N. Rampart Street, New Orleans, La.; the Salvation Army and Arkansas Hospice. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com.