In Memoriam
Trish Woodbury: Longtime employee, cherished colleague and friend

The university community lost a dear friend and colleague on April 15, 2004, when Patricia Woodbury, academic counselor for the Graduate School and a UNH employee for 20 years, died after a sudden illness.

Trish loved photography and UNH. Here one of her photos reflects both passions.

She was a 1977 graduate of Concord High School and attended one year at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She received her bachelor’s in classics and English Magna Cum Laude as well as her master’s in English literature from UNH. She was also pursuing a master’s in history.

She taught Latin at Oyster River High School and at UNH. She regularly attended activities and meetings of the New Hampshire Classical Association and the Classical Association of New England. She was a great friend and supporter of classics. As a colleague in the classics said of her, “She loved to have the opportunity to teach and pass on to others her love of Latin and classical antiquity. We considered ourselves fortunate because we were able to reply upon her for moral and practical support.”

During her career at UNH, she also worked in the Registrar’s Office and the CIS Training Center. For nearly 20 years, she was a caregiver for developmentally disabled adults at the Great Bay School and Training Center. She regularly volunteered for the Special Olympics.

If you were a graduate student or a graduate program coordinator at UNH, you probably knew Trish. In her capacity as an academic counselor, she helped many students and faculty navigate the paperwork process inherent in attaining an advanced degree. As one graduate student said, “I know I cried on her shoulder more than once about the whole dissertation thing, and in the end, she always got me to laugh, and to realize that it was more about the process than my shortcomings.”

Trish was an avid photographer. Examples of her photos were featured on the cover of the Student Rights, Rules and Responsibilities booklet since 1995 and the Campus Safety, Alcohol & Illegal Drugs brochure since 1999. One of the memorable things about her was her enormously varied interests. As a colleague said, “I thought about the horseback riding (and the spills) and learning to ride a motorcycle just this year. What always struck me was that love of learning.” She was also known for her calligraphy—she often was called upon to fill in certificates and awards for students by academic departments; embroidery–she frequently won blue ribbons for her work at the Deerfield Fair; and gardening—many of her friends find solace in the fact that they have plants in their gardens that Trish shared from hers.

If you have photos of pets in your office, you may have heard one of Trish’s “cute animal stories.” She was well known for her love of animals. As one of her friends said, “She had compassion for every stray cat and bunny and wild bird.” Another friend related, “When your day starts off with an e-mail about foals cautiously moving away from Mom, you were on Trish’s mailing list.”

She was a valued and supportive colleague for many at UNH. When most of us were taking time off between Christmas and New Year’s, Trish was volunteering her time to help staff in the Registrar’s Office process grades. One grateful colleague related, “I wouldn’t have made it in my job, especially the first month, if not for Trish.

She helped, supported, educated, commiserated, and laughed with so many people here.” Another colleague recalled Trish’s ability to listen: “She always gave great reactions to things you were talking about and showed genuine interest in even the smallest things. She made you feel special because of the way she would focus her attention on you.”

We have lost a dear friend and colleague. One who was quiet and unassuming, but who touched many because of her big heart, the concern she expressed for others, her dry sense of humor, her love of learning and of all things natural, and her offbeat way of looking at the world. It is most fitting to find comfort in the words of one of Trish’s favorites, Aristotle:

“Even when the loss of (her) presence gives us pain, still a certain pleasure arises in our mourning and lamentation; for pain is felt at the loss of the beloved, but pleasure in remembering (her), as it were, seeing (her) as (she) lived and moved.”

The UNH community is invited to contribute in memory of Patricia F. Woodbury to the UNH Foundation, 9 Edgewood Road, Durham, NH 03824 or at www.foundation.unh.edu.

Memorial services will be held Sunday, April 25 at 2 p.m. in the Church St. Chapel at the Bennett Funeral Home, 209 N. Main St., Concord.

-- Terri Winters, director of Academic Technology, CIS