Woody, “Pete” Lyons Donald

GOODING, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — “Pete” Lyons Donald Woody, 87, of Gooding, Idaho passed away on February 15, 2025, in Gooding, Idaho. Private Family Services and memorial will be held.

Pete grew up in Hagerman, Idaho, on his family’s homestead along the Snake River and the Rimrock (R.M. Woody’s Grandfather). They moved to a ranch in Tuttle, Idaho, next to his grandfather, where he graduated in 1956 from Hagerman High School. Pete worked for the US Forest Service out of the Stanley, Idaho, area one summer on the 4th of July Ranger Station, building trails and packing into the wilderness.

He joined the Navy at the end of the summer of 1965 in San Diego, California, and received jet engine mechanics training in Tennessee. He was then sent to Moffat Field, California, as a VF213 fighter squadron, where he made two cruises to Southeast Asia.

Pete was united in marriage to Karen Lee Crouse on January 26, 1961, in Gooding, Idaho. He re-enlisted in the Navy, went to B school in Memphis, Tennessee, for jet engines and test cell mechanics, and transferred to Point Mago, California. He was appointed Chief Test Tell operator and sent to Vietnam on the US Ranger for 9 months. He returned home following his honorable discharge and went to work for Boeing Aircraft in Seattle, Washington, working on their jets.

He was hired by Bell Rapids and set up a 28,000-acre irrigation project for the next 3 years, where he could work alongside his wife in Idaho. They later moved to Montana, where he worked again for the Forest Service as a mechanic and a firefighter for the next 27 years at the Trout Creek Ranger station in Trout Creek, Montana. Pete, his wife, and three children lived in Heron, Montana, in a house he was proud to have built himself.

In 1994, he retired and moved back to King Hill, Idaho, to help care for his elderly parents until their passing. After 14 years, Pete and Karen decided to make one more move to Challis, Idaho, in 2016, where he enjoyed riding his 4-wheeler in the hills near their home and watching the abundant wildlife right outside his back door.

Pete is survived by his wife Karen Woody of Gooding, Idaho; daughter Leela Schafer of Nampa, Idaho; sons Donald (Rachel) Woody of Wellsville, Utah, and Timothy (Carmen) Woody of South Daytona, Florida; seven grandchildren: Rebecca, Halee, Chelsea, David, Jacob, Sydney, and Vinny; Great-Grandchildren: Henry and Harry Kast, Asher and Archer Burnworth, Ellie Hunter, Walker Mitchell, and Weston Woody; and sister Helyn (Steve) Haase of Kuna, Idaho.

Pete was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Nicky and Larry Woody.

Arrangements are under the direction of Demaray Funeral Home of Gooding, Idaho.

Condolences, memories, and photos can be shared with the family by following the obituary link at www.demarayfuneralservice.com.