Col. James (Jim) Raymond Woodall, age 97, peacefully began his Last Corps Trip on September 9, 2026, surrounded by loved ones as he made his final journey home. He was born July 15, 1929, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jesse Ray and Clarice Tessie Foster Woodall. He was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife of 68 years, Gloria Means Woodall, and his younger brother, David Don Woodall.

As a young boy, he loved to hunt in the woods and prairies around the Lake Worth area. Beginning at age 12, he was raised by his grandparents, James Richard and Tessie Ella Bird Foster. In later years, his passion for hunting took him from the Texas Hill Country and Pennsylvania to Korea, Germany, Austria and Argentina, creating a lifetime of memorable adventures.

He was a 1946 graduate of North Side High School in Fort Worth. That same year, he entered Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) and became a proud member of the Corps of Cadets. During his years at A&M, he was a cadet company commander, co-editor of the 1950 Aggieland yearbook and a Ross Volunteer. In 2011, he was inducted into the Corps Hall of Honor.

While still a student at A&M, Jim attended ROTC summer camp at Fort Hood, Texas. One free afternoon, he made the short trip to Belton with a fellow cadet, who introduced him to a lovely Baylor student named Gloria, home for the summer and spending the day at Riverside Swimming Pool. That night was their first date, and Jim always maintained that all the stars were aligned from the beginning. A long-distance courtship followed, with Jim in College Station and Gloria in Waco. Jim graduated in June 1950 with a degree in agricultural administration, and the two were married the following January.

Shortly after marriage, Jim entered the Regular Army at Fort Hood and deployed with the 2nd Armored Division to Germany. Gloria soon joined him, and they rented a room from a German family until government quarters became available. It was during these early years together that their shared sense of adventure took root as they began exploring Europe, the start of a lifetime of travels together.

In 1955, Jim left the Army and moved with his family to Gloria’s hometown of Belton. For the next five years, he worked in lumber sales and wood-product manufacturing and operated an Angora goat ranch. But the pull of military life proved too strong, and in January 1960 he returned to active duty. Jim, Gloria and their daughters moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he attended the U.S. Army Infantry School. Jim’s next assignment took him to Korea with the 1st Cavalry Division, where he experienced his first combat action while stationed along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). After his year in Korea, assignments at Fort Hood, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Bethesda, Maryland, followed. He was then deployed to Vietnam in 1968, where he commanded a mechanized infantry battalion. For his military service, Jim’s many decorations included the Silver Star, three Bronze Stars, eight Air Medals and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses.

Next came a year at the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, followed by five years assigned to Army headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. During those years, the family logged countless miles exploring Western Europe with their travel trailer in tow.

In 1977, Jim returned to Texas A&M, this time as professor of military science and Commandant of the Corps of Cadets. This final military assignment was also his favorite—a fitting conclusion to a career that had begun there as a young cadet more than 30 years earlier. In 1982, he retired from the Army after more than 34 years of military service, including two years in the Navy Reserve.

Soon after, he began a second career in financial services, providing retirement plans and tax-sheltered annuities to faculty and staff at colleges throughout Central Texas. Years later, he retired for a second time and started a new chapter as a writer. His first book was his memoir, Destined to be a Soldier, which he published for family and friends. He went on to author Texas Aggie Medals of Honor and 12 Texas Aggie War Heroes, both published by Texas A&M University Press. He later edited The Book of Aggie Lists, also published by Texas A&M University Press, and contributed an article to World War II magazine.

Jim dreamed of travel and adventure from an early age, a dream that ultimately took him to 82 countries and territories around the world. Beginning with Gloria’s 80th birthday, Jim and Gloria shared their love of travel with their four daughters on eleven cruises. Adventure found him repeatedly. He rode out a Gulf hurricane aboard a Navy destroyer, worked on a banana farm in Panama and was once detained for 18 hours by Chinese authorities, just to name a few. Jim and Gloria were also in a television commercial in Hong Kong and aboard a river cruise ship when fire broke out on the Volga Canal in Russia.

Aside from his glasses, Jim had a knack for finding things. He led a successful search for a caisson for Texas A&M’s Parsons Mounted Cavalry to use towing their cannon. He also located four original Medals of Honor awarded to Aggies, now on display at the Corps Center, and recovered a long-missing painting of Reveille I that hangs there today.

There was a special contentment about Jim when he was surrounded by his four girls. He was a “girl dad” long before there was a term for it. He is survived by his daughters, Susan Gardiner (Jack), Carol Honeycutt (Rick), Melissa Carpenter (Floyd) and Martha Page (John); grandchildren Bradley Honeycutt (Jennifer), Christopher Honeycutt (Rosanna), Michael Carpenter (Robin), Elizabeth Benson (Cole), Lauren Rosenberg (Aaron), Andrew Page (Olivia), William Gardiner, Steven Page and Sarah Matheson (Jake); 15 great-grandchildren; brother-in-law Buddy Means (Janice); and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Visitation will take place on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Callaway-Jones Funeral Home, 3001 S. College Ave., Bryan from 5–7 p.m. A graveside service with full military honors will be held on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. at College Station City Cemetery, 2530 Texas Ave., College Station, with Steven Steele officiating. Following the service, please join the family for a Celebration of Life at the Museum of the American GI, 19124 Hwy 6, College Station.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be sent to the Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, Texas 77840. Gifts received will be used to establish the Col. James R. Woodall ‘50 General Rudder Scholarship.

Please designate gifts “in memory of Col. James Woodall” in the memo line of the check. To donate online, visit http://give.am/JamesRaymondWoodallMemorial. Please choose “this gift is a tribute to someone” in the gift section.