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Remembering
Woodrow W. Poland, Sr.
North River Valley Volunteer Fire Company — West Virginia
Classification: Volunteer
Rank: Firefighter
Date of Death: April 19, 2001
Age: 72
North River Valley Volunteer Fire Company
volunteer Woodrow W. Poland died
from a fall at the substation being built
for NRVVFC at Delray, WV. Woody
was one of ten children of Paul H.
and Mae Davis Poland, born at
Rio, WV. He served in the Army
from 1951-1953 during the
Korean War. Woody married
Eileen Wilson in 1957, and we
have three children and five
grandchildren.
Woody attended trade
school while working at the
Naval Research Laboratory
in Washington, DC, as
a machinist. In 1963, he
transferred to NASA in
Greenbelt, Maryland. He
retired January 6, 1986, as an
Engineering Technician, moving
to Rio the same day. Woody
spent his fifteen years of retirement
finishing our retirement home, doing
community service, and helping friends.
Woody belonged to the Ebenezer Lutheran
Church, where he served on the church and parish
councils and as a trustee of the church and the cemetery
committee. He helped finish the new addition to the church.
He was a member of North River Mountain Hunting Club,
a lifetime member of Post 134 American Legion, and a
member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He held
leadership positions in all three organizations and helped
in several major building projects. In July 1986, Woody
joined the Rio-Delray Ruritan Club, where he remained a
faithful member until his death. Over the years, he served
as secretary, vice president, president, and treasurer and on
the county fair board.
I told Woody he was a jack of all trades and a master
of none, but I have a nice home which
was sheetrock and plywood floors when
we moved in. Woody was very proud
of his family and always ready to
help them. He spent Friday and
Saturday nights playing card
game set back or volleyball
with his friends.
While serving in the
NRVVFC, Woody held the
offices of Vice President
(1993) and President
(1988-1992 and 1996-
2001). He took the
following training: Hazmat
Incident Analysis,
Firefighter I and II, Mass
Casualty, Wilderness Search,
First Aid, and CPR. Woody
oversaw the upkeep and maintenance
of the fire station and
community building and was the
chairman of the substation committee.
He was an active member,
responding to fire and search and rescue
calls. He was our representative at the
county association meetings.
Woody Poland: son, brother, brother-in-law, husband,
father, father-in-law, grandfather, uncle, best friend,
neighbor, community leader, mathematician, carpenter,
surveyor, plumber, electrician, auto mechanic, machinist,
builder of houses, volunteer fireman, veteran, teacher,
student, man of humor, hunter, fisherman, card partner,
volleyball player, farm worker, whistler of tunes, church
worker, baptized child of God…a good and honest man
who is loved and will be greatly missed!