Shirley C. Woodworth obituary

Dr. Shirley C. Woodworth, Western Michigan University associate professor emerita of communication, died Feb. 26 in Portage. She was 86.

Shirley C. Woodworth

Woodworth joined the department of communication in 1963 and retired in 1997 after 33 years of service to the University. In addition to teaching, she also served as an undergraduate advisor to that department.

She was a widely recognized leader of workshops and seminars for many community groups, primarily focusing on interpersonal relationships. She developed a course on male-female interaction, one of the first such classes in the country. Woodworth also was involved in the planning and participation in the first open campus forums on sexual harassment.

Woodworth was honored as WMU's Woman of the Year in 1987.

She served as president of the WMU Chapter of American Association of University Professors from 1990-92, also serving as chief grievance officer, on the executive committee and on negotiation teams for that organization. She also was a member of the University's Faculty Senate.

Woodworth earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from WMU.

Services

Family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 13, at Life Story Funeral Home, Betzler, 6080 Stadium Dr., Kalamazoo. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 14, at the same location.

Memorials

Contributions may be made to the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, Hospice of Southwest Michigan or the SPCA of Southwest Michigan.

To leave a memorial guestbook entry, visit lifestorynet.com.