John D. Wooledge, III

John “Jack” D. Wooledge III, loving husband of 54 years to the late Carol (Giesse) Wooledge passed away peacefully on Monday, April 8th. He lived a wonderful life of 90 years. 

Jack was born on August 27th, 1933 in Evanston, Il., son of John Dillon Jr. and Lucille Mae (Roberts) Wooledge. Jack grew up in Bloomington, Illinois with his sister, Martha, where he thrived as a teenager studying, joining Boy Scouts, playing pranks, lifeguarding, running track and swimming at Bloomington High School. He was a captain in both sports.

Jack graduated from Bloomington High School in Illinois and then went on to Purdue University where he studied engineering, was a Varsity letterman in swimming and was also enrolled in the Army ROTC program.

He graduated from Purdue in 1955 with a BS in Chemical Engineering. Jack deferred his military service for a couple of years to pursue additional education at the University of Michigan where he earned his M.S. in Chemical Engineering and began his professional career at Dow in Midland, Michigan. Jack proudly served as a commissioned officer from 1957-1960 in the United States Army in the Chemical Core at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. Many of his foundational experiences came from serving in the Army, including his organization, problem solving methods and strong sense of patriotism. During this time, Jack was also blessed with his children Ann and Dave, with his first wife.

After his service, Jack returned to work at Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan until 1963 when he then moved to Cincinnati to work as a chemical engineer. In 1968, he branched off with several other engineers, including his future father-in-law, Robert C. Giesse, to form a very successful new company, PEDCo. Jack was vice president of the company until it shut its doors in 1985. He finished up a rewarding engineering career as a chemical engineer consultant at Lockwood Greene, retiring in 1998.

In December of 1969, Jack married the love of his life, Carol Ann Giesse. Jack said that from the first time he met Carol she made an impression on him because of her confidence in herself and her ability to do whatever she wanted to do despite her disability. The two of them enjoyed a devoted marriage of 54 years where they stuck by each other’s side until the very end. Jack followed Carol to the angels almost 4 months to the day of her passing.

Together they raised Lara and Brad in the home they built in 1976. Jack carefully made adjustments with the builder to accommodate Carol’s needs and, of course, had a large swimming pool in the back yard. Jack loved swimming all of his life, daily swimming laps until the age of 85. He circled back to competitive swimming in the 1980’s, enjoying the races at meets for Masters Swim Team.  

Hobbies earlier in his life included camping, ice skating, company softball at PEDCo, and playing bridge. Later in his life, he thrived on finding family vacation spots for all of his children and grandchildren to bond together and also traveling with Carol to visit lighthouses in various parts of north and eastern United States. Around the house, Jack enjoyed creating model train displays and hours of pool fun with his children and grandchildren. Throughout his life, Jack supported his children as a parent, leader and as a coach in their endeavors – education, boy scouts and sports. He continued that supportive spirit with his grandchildren, attending sporting events and checking up on report cards even as they attended college.  

Left to cherish his memory are his children Ann Wassmann, David Wooledge, Lara (Michael) Duncan, Bradley (Pamela) Wooledge; grandchildren Nicholas (Alyssa) Duncan, Christopher Duncan, Matthew (Alexis) Duncan, Dillon Wooledge, Brittany Duncan, Audrey Wooledge, and Lucas Wooledge; great grandchildren Raelynn Jo, Charlie Rose, and Finley Jack; and brother-in-law Robert (Cher) Giesse Jr.

Jack was predeceased by his parents, John Dillon Jr. and Lucille Mae (Roberts) Wooledge; and his sister Martha (Wooledge) Schultz. Waiting at Heaven’s gate was his wife, Carol Ann (Giesse) Wooledge.

Visitation will be Friday, April 26th at Good Shepherd, 8815 East Kemper Road, Cincinnati, OH from 11:00 am to Noon followed by a Memorial Service. Memorial donations may be made to Disabled American Veterans (www.dav.org).

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John D. Wooledge, III, please visit our floral store.