Sidney J. Woodcock - age: 89
(September 11, 1931 to October 15, 2020
)
Resident of
Scarborough, Maine
Visitation Information:
Private family services were held by the family.
Condolences maybe post to www.dcpate.com
Obituary:
PORTLAND, MAINE – Sidney J. Woodcock, age 89, died on October 15, 2020 after a long and valiant fight with cancer.
He was born in Hampton, England on September 11, 1931 to Sidney A. and Lydia F.R. (Whitaker) Woodcock. He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College in London and did his graduate work at Cambridge University.
Sid married Gillian Nicholson in 1958 and they raised their family in England until GE offered him a job in the Large Steam Turbine division of the Power Systems unit in Schenectady, NY. Transferred by GE to South Portland, they lived in Scarborough and became communicants of St. Alban’s in Cape Elizabeth for some years before being transferred back to NY. After a short retirement, GE asked if he would like to come back, and he re-retired at the age of 80, when he could still get an answer on a slide rule faster than any of us could with a calculator.
Sid was an engineer’s engineer. There were many times the garage would be filled with experiments, and he held several patents as a result. As technically excellent as he was, one of his favorite activities was teaching and mentoring newly minted engineers.
A life-long Anglican, Sid began bell-ringing as a teenager. Although it was much more challenging to do in the US, Sid rang bells when he could in churches around the country, including at the Old North Church in Boston.
An avid vegetable gardener, Sid loved to keep things around the house up to his exacting standards. Getting up before the crack of dawn, he began his day with his coffee and his Wall Street Journal. He loved being surrounded by his family, including his great-grandchildren – and granddogs. His final act of love was recently moving from NY back to Maine, using his remaining strength to make sure that his darling Gill was settled near their children.
Sid is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Gillian; their three children, Susan Dench (Bryan), Julia Deering (Glen) and John (Jodi); five grandchildren and several great-grandchildren; brother Roger Woodcock (Eileen), nephew, nieces and their children in England.
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