Robert Woody '50 the former business editor of The Salt Lake Tribune died on April 21 of causes stemming from a number of medical issues, according to The Tribune. He was 84 years old.
Woody joined The Tribune in 1957. He was business editor from 1966 to his retirement in 1990 and also wrote a popular daily column, "Up and Down the Street."
Woody was renowned for the trust he inspired in his sources through his conscientious reporting, according to his colleagues.
"If Bob was one thing, he had integrity," Mike Korologos, the former assistant to The Tribune's executive editor, said in an interview.
In the 1970s, Woody's assistant Paul Rolly received a tip that the Mormon church was considering buying property for development on the south side of Salt Lake City, but could not make headway with sources because the story was so sensitive, Rolly said. Rolly called Woody, who was still under sedation in the hospital a day after major surgery. Sources trusted Woody enough that he was able to get the whole story, even while still sedated, according to Rolly.
"He got the whole story and phoned it in from his hospital bed," Rolly said, laughing.
Rolly who wrote Woody's official obituary is now the political columnist for The Tribune.
Because Woody was always on the phone, he developed a reputation for yelling "take a number" when someone tried to reach him while he was busy, his colleagues said. The habit was tested in the 1970s when The Tribune's secretary announced that the Shah of Iran was on the phone.
"The famous line is that someone said, Bob, the Shah of Iran is on line two,' and Bob said, Take a number,'" Korologos said.
The caller's identity had been misstated, and was in fact the Shah's secretary, according to former editorial page editor Harry Fuller.
"[Woody] was very boisterous in the newsroom, especially around deadline time," Korologos said.
Woody was "very nattily dressed" and brought a distinct east coast style often in the form of a bow tie to work, Korologos said.
"He was highly regarded because he was a fine writer, always accurate and didn't take advantage of his writing to embarrass anybody unless they deserved it," Fuller said.
Before Woody's tenure as business editor, the business page traditionally focused on the heavy mining and mineral extraction industries, but when Woody became editor, he enhanced the section by incorporating news about "mom-and-pop shops," Korologos said.
Although Woody was a known environmentalist, he established relationships with representatives of the region's oil, gas and coal industries, all of whom held Woody in high esteem for his fairness as a reporter, Fuller said.
Woody was an avid outdoorsman biking to work almost every day during his time at the paper despite living 12 miles away from the office, his colleagues said. Woody was an avid rock climber and skier, an interest he continued to pursue even after his retirement through competition in local cross-country races, Fuller said.
During World War II, Woody fought with the 10th Mountain Division, a famous unit that was trained to cope with harsh mountain conditions, and was later deployed to Italy. Woody enrolled at Dartmouth after the war and particularly enjoyed using the Dartmouth Skiway, Fuller said.
Woody was always proud to say he graduated from Dartmouth, according to Rolly.
Woody met his wife, Barbara, in Hanover, Fuller said. They married the year of his graduation.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Woody attended the Colorado Springs College of Fine Art. He became involved in journalism working as a reporter for newspapers in Colorado and Idaho, Rolly said.
According to Fuller, Woody "was a man of conscience." Although he had served in the Army, Woody was "adamantly opposed to war," Fuller said. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Woody joined antiwar protests and marches, particularly those against the Vietnam War, according to Fuller. Woody was also "quietly" involved in community service, serving on the board of an organization that "helped homeless men get back on their feet," Rolly said.
For several years, Woody wrote freelance articles for skiing magazines. He also was on the Board of the Utah Society of Professional Journalists, according to Korologos.
Woody practiced the classical guitar and the renaissance flute, and took both karate and continuing-education classes after his retirement, Rolly said.
Woody also loved to travel, making a point of learning the basics of the languages in foreign countries he visited, Rolly said.
"He wanted to get along on his own and didn't want to be a tourist that had others translate for him," Rolly said.
One summer, Woody and his son Peter hiked through Europe, staying at youth hostels.
"It was the sort of thing you would do at 19, only he was doing it at 65," Rolly said. "Bob was a kid at heart."
Woody is survived by Barbara, his wife of nearly 60 years, and his four children.
