 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
House Mother Joyce Woodcock Dies in Fire
House Mother Joyce Woodcock
We are sad to report the passing of Mom Woodcock. Mom Woodcock died Tuesday
evening, October 11, 2005, in a fire at her mobile home in Indianola. She was overcome
by smoke in a fire believed to have been started by a cigarette that came in contact with a
stuffed chair. As you may know, Mom Woodcock was displaced from her role at Mu
Deuteron after the chapter closed in August. An undegraduate wrote to us the following
upon hearing of Mom Woodcocks passing:
Mom Woodcock demonstrated unmatched character. One thing that will
always stand out in my mind is her reaction to the chapter being suspended.
Immediatly following the news, I had a short conversation with Mom as she
failed to fight back her tears. Rather than being upset at the undergraduates
and comdemning those at fault for the loss of her job, she repeatedly expressed
how terrible she felt for us and continued to assure us that she knew what great
men we were. That selfless reaction says a lot about a very caring women..........
Below is a Des Moines Register account of her death, and life as housemother at Mu
Deuteron.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ex-house mother at U of I dies in Indianola fire
A cigarette sparked the blaze at the Indianola 'summer home' of Joyce
Woodcock.
By TOM ALEX
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
October 13, 2005
Indianola, Ia. — Joyce Woodcock was known as "Mom Woody" at the Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity house in Iowa City, where she watched over 30 or so college men and taught
them it's rude to reach across the dinner table.
She moved to her mobile "summer home" in Indianola after Phi Gamma Delta's charter
was suspended in August over alcohol violations.
The 68-year-old former house mother was killed when a cigarette sparked a fire that tore
through the mobile home, investigators said Wednesday.
"She meant so much to the house. We loved her, and she loved being around us," said
Jack Somers, former president of the University of Iowa fraternity.
Norma Bash, Woodcock's neighbor in the North American Manufactured Home
Community on Indianola's south side, said "she loved the boys in the house, but she was
enjoying her home here" as well.
"She was such a nice lady, and she loved this house," Bash said.
The fire broke out shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday. Bash and another neighbor, Brian
Miller, on Wednesday tried to salvage some of Woodcock's belongings from the burned
remains of the residence.
Meanwhile, the men of Phi Gamma Delta recalled how they escorted Woodcock to her
seat at mealtime and strictly observed the table manners she taught.
No one took his seat before Mom sat down.
"There was no reaching," Somers said. "She was old school. She was such a nice woman,
and she was always there supporting us.
"She was heartbroken when the house was taken away."
Miller said it was impossible to attempt a rescue. Flames and heavy smoke prevented
anyone from getting close to the home.
"It was pretty much all engulfed inside," he said.
The cigarette is believed to have ignited a chair. Firefighters believe Woodcock had
already gone to bed before the flames spread.
Indianola Fire Chief Brian Seymour said a smoke detector was found in the home, but
there was no battery. He said Woodcock's death was the first fire fatality in Indianola in
about five years.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
