Services for Mrs. Thelma Ruth Crecink Woodyear will be at Franklin Funeral Home starting with visitation Friday, November 6, 2015 from 5:00 PM till 8:00 PM and resume Saturday at Meadville Baptist Church from 9:00 AM till time of service at 10:00 AM. Graveside services will follow at the Midway Cemetery in Meadville. Rev. Matt Alexander will officiate the services. Franklin Funeral Home is in charge of the services.

Thelma Ruth Crecink Woodyear was born on September 29, 1923, the daughter of Allen John and Willie Terry Scott Crecink. She was an active member of Meadville Baptist Church where she enjoyed worship and fellowship with her church family. She had an unshakable faith in the Lord and lived out her faith by loving God and loving others. She went home to be with the Lord on November 4, 2015.
In 1947 Thelma Ruth married Joe Townsend (Jim) Woodyear, Jr. They became the parents of a daughter, Terry Jo Woodyear Stutzman, and a son, Joe Townsend Woodyear, III. While she lived most of her life in Franklin County, she relocated with her husband and family to Magee, Mississippi, and later to Venice, Louisiana. As a wife and mother, she provided the security of home that made the transitions easier for her family. She enjoyed meeting new people, making life-long friends, and experiencing the unique characteristics of each location. She devoted her life to being a Christian wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

In the early 1980s, Thelma Ruth and her husband returned to Meadville where she would live for the rest of her life. She enjoyed renewing old friendships and making new ones. Traveling was one of her favorite forms of entertainment, but nothing outranked following her beloved Mississippi State Bulldogs in whatever sport was in season. She was a member of the Franklin Woman's Club and the American Legion Auxiliary. Eating out and spending time with special friends, Eva Nell Milton, Mamie Ruth Halford, and the late Edwina Price brought her much joy. As her health limited her ability to get out, she was determined to keep up with the many friends who had blessed her life through the years. This was accomplished by visiting on the phone, checking her I-Pad for email or messages on Facebook, and reading the Franklin Advocate from cover to cover.

Mrs. Woodyear was preceded in death by her parents, husband, brother – William Allen Crecink – and great-granddaughter, Elyse Renee Woodyear. She is survived by her children, Terry Woodyear Stutzman and husband Spencer of Natchez, and Joe Townsend Woodyear III and wife Jo Margaret of Laurel. She is also survived by grandchildren Gentry Scott and husband Bill, Katie Graham and husband Kirk, Joe Townsend (Jim) Woodyear IV and wife Sarah, Justin Woodyear, and Janna Tyler and husband Justin; great-grandchildren, Taylor and Teal Scott, Logan and Dylan Graham, Joe Townsend (V) and William Ryder Woodyear, and Sara Catherine Tyler; one niece, Carolyn Crecink Meaders and daughter Stephanie of Atlanta, GA.

Pallbearers will be Jim Woodyear, Justin Woodyear, Justin Tyler, Bill Scott, Kirk Graham, and Ricky Long.