Pictured is the late Leo Woods of Ontario at his grandmother Sarah Budde’s residence in about 1919. Born in 1915, Woods purchased the former Charles Nixon grocery store in Ontario in 1942, operating it for 17 years, until he sold it to Bruce and Bernie Bauman. In 1944, he married Marjorie B. Beighley of Viola, who was a longtime Norwalk-Ontario School District English teacher. Woods also served on the Ontario Fire Department for 37 years and the Bank of Ontario Board for more than 50 years, plus he had a stint on the Ontario Village Board. Philanthropy characterized his later years: He donated $100,000 to the Ontario Public Library building project, plus he gave to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Wildcat Mountain State Park and Grace Community Church, among other entities. Woods died at age 97 in 2012.
