Warren Woodson Aeschliman, known as Woody, was born in 1930 and died in 2023. He thought his full name was unwieldy so he gave his two surviving children the briefest of names Alan (NMN) and Julie (NMN).

His wife of almost 70 years, Sara Florence Graves, disliked her middle name so she agreed to that and of course he would call her Flo to annoy her. You did not want to show Woody your weaknesses, especially at cards. He enjoyed many a card game at Bosco’s and Buddy’s Place. Not too many years ago he and a 12-year-old player won the pitch tournament at Buddy’s.

Woody graduated from Lancaster High School and got his B.S. and M.S. while teaching, coaching, and taking care of his family. He wrote his Master’s thesis on the Mineral Water Bowl game which is played in Excelsior Springs where he coached for a few years.

He was drafted and chose to go into the Marines where he worked on Corsair aircraft.

His first coaching job was in Livonia, Missouri, where he made lifelong friends. He then went to Novelty, Missouri, and coached softball, baseball, and basketball.

From Excelsior Springs he went to Tarkio where he coached basketball and the football offensive line when they won the state championship. He taught shop and drafting. He made beautiful furniture and could repair and restore it, too. He also built great sports items and play equipment for Alan when he was little and furniture for Sara and Julie.

Upon retiring from teaching he moved back to the farm and opened “Aeschliman’s Antics” with Sara and they ran it for 20 years.

He enjoyed reading and could recite poetry he learned in school and liked a good ribald story or ditty. He collected and traded books for years and the basement of the house in Tarkio was filled with books.

Alan greatly enjoyed bird hunting and fishing with Woody who maintained ponds for fishing and swimming. He was still mowing swaths around them until a couple of years ago for his family to enjoy swimming, fishing and pyrotechnics. He would bait hooks and clean catfish for all the grandsons for hours.

He kept his word, put his family first and treated people as he wished to be treated.

He was a good steward of his land, striving to conserve it and improve his herd of Black Angus which he sold shortly after his 92nd birthday.

He and Sara were the first Schuyler County “Super Fans.” We have no idea how many games they enjoyed watching the Haley kids play. He watched Maddie play basketball as recently as December 2022. He greatly enjoyed their joy in playing sports.

He and Sara took many a road trip to investigate taverns, museums, and esoteric sites. When in their eighties they went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and caught a lot of beads doing Lord knows what.

He cared for his parents, Mabel Z. Crump and Jonathan Ellsworth Aeschliman, when they needed him as they aged.

Woody took excellent care of Sara especially in her final years when he spent many weeks with her in hospitals and then sitting outside her window at the nursing home during COVID.

Marcia and Stanley Martin and Curtis and Cindy Tallman helped him greatly at that time and after he lost Sara. They are largely responsible for him being able to stay at home for so long.

Sherlyn Darnielle, a niece, moved in with the Aeschlimans while they lived in Tarkio when she was eight years old and she later married Bill Carberry. They have twin boys Mike (married to Holly) and Ben who would visit the farm. Their Grandpa Woody taught them to shoot guns and light fireworks.

Woody’s daughter, Julie married Ron Smith. Ron and Woody enjoyed going on adventures, some of which involved taverns and tall tales.

Woody’s son Alan married Jackie Fletcher W., acquiring a grandson, Corey Whitaker, who married Melody Mathes and they have three children, Angelina, Brenden and MaLyn.

Andrew Aeschliman is Alan’s other ‘boy’ and he married Jessica Murphy and provided the Aeschliman twins, Grace and Adeline, with really long middle names.

Woody enjoyed them all.  He would have been pleased to know that they were all at Angelina’s softball tournament down the street from him last Sunday and Angelina played a very good game.

Woody will be cremated and no service will be held. Arrangements are in the care of Dooley Funeral Home, Queen City, Missouri, www.dooleyfh.com.