Dr. Lee Wade Woodard

Funeral Service for Dr. Lee Wade Woodard will be at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 at First Christian Church in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Burial will follow at Sallisaw City Cemetery in Sallisaw, Oklahoma under the direction of Agent Mallory Martin Funeral Service, Inc.

Dr. Lee Wade Woodard, 82, of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, passed away Wednesday, December 20, 2023. He was born January 30, 1941 outside of Checotah, Oklahoma to parents, Diamond Joe and Pearl Melissa Lane Woodard. He was an accomplished scholar, minister, author, and counselor. He served as Pastor at the First Christian Church of Sallisaw for over 11 years and then went on to Pastor at the First Christian Church in Stigler, Oklahoma and Wood Memorial Christian Church in Van Buren, Arkansas. He ministered at many other churches in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and even Manitoba, Canada. Dr. Woodard was a lifelong student as well. He attended Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee and then received a Bachelor of Arts from Lincoln Christian College in Illinois where he also played college basketball. He completed two years of graduate study at Vanderbilt University and then completed a Master of Divinity and a Doctorate of Ministry at Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. While serving as a minister, Dr. Woodard also worked for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Bill Willis Community Mental Health Center, and was Chaplain for the Sequoyah Memorial Hospital Hospice. But he is perhaps most well-known in the community for the hundreds of weddings he presided over for the Sequoyah County Courthouse. Dr. Woodard also had a love for history and authored many books on a variety of subjects including the origins of the Heavener Runestone, the La Salle Monument, and the secrets of the First Century Gospels.

He is survived by his wife, Louise Woodard, his daughters, Melissa Woodard Cloud (Charles) and Jennifer Woodard, and his stepson, Todd Brewer (Mona), sister, Shirley Woodard Crum (Don), and brother, David Woodard (Rocio); four grandchildren, Derek Brewer (Payge), Jessica Brewer Conway (Christopher), Christopher Cloud (Jessica), and Cody Cloud (Samantha), as well as, four great-grandchildren, and numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins.

Dr. Woodard is preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Mary Kay Edwards Woodard; his brother, Diamond Joe, Jr. (Marie); and two sisters, Ann Woodard Szulski (Pete) and Nancy Woodard Millsap.

Active Pallbearers will be Christopher Cloud, Cody Cloud, Derek Brewer, Charles Cloud, Todd Brewer, Christopher Conway, Jeff Woodard and David Woodard.

Honorary Pallbearers will be members of First Christian Church.

Viewing will be 10 AM – 8 PM Tuesday at Agent Mallory Martin Funeral Home in Sallisaw, OK where the family will greet 6 – 8 PM.