Mrs. Woodhull also helped organize the “Save Open Space Committee” in the 1960s that ultimately gained community support and funding for the park district now known as Five Rivers MetroParks. She was also a founder of the Muse Machine.
“She had an immense vision, she was very gifted in seeing things the way they should be and could be and not as they are,” said Marvin Olinsky who served as director of Cox Arboretum and CEO of Five Rivers Metropark. “Her vision and creativity extended from the performing arts to real estate to parks and the environment. She was a master gardener and a tremendous humanitarian.”
It was just a year ago that Mrs. Woodhull, an Oakwood resident, was honored with the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association. She was named a Dayton Daily News Ten Top Woman in 2005.
“She was a consummate gardener, an ardent environmentalist and she was inspirational by how much she gave her community,” said her daughter, Sara Woodhull of Kettering. “She was ever-present with her children and grandchildren and was devoted to her friends.”
Mrs. Woodhull was born in Middletown where her grandfather, George Verity, founded Armco Steel. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and married James Woodhull of Dayton in 1943.
“The more she learned about plants and saw how we were destroying the earth, the more she wanted to ‘green up’ Dayton,” said her daughter.
After years of community work, Mrs. Woodhull was appointed to serve as the third member of the park commission board in 1989. She also served on the advisory committee of the Friends of Hills & Dales Park in the 1990′s, which sponsored work days and fund-raising to maintain the historic park.
According to her daughter, Mrs. Woodhull was also involved in the movement that started the Oregon historic district, and was one of the drivers of Riverscape.
Olinsky said it’s a blessing to encounter even one person like Jean Woodhull in a lifetime.
“She was one of the greatest people I have ever known,” he said.
Mrs. Woodhull is survived by her four children: Tory Parlin of Cincinnati; Anne Woodhull of Amherst, Mass.; Sara Woodhull of Kettering, Jay Woodhull of Oakwood and their families. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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