SHARON KAY WOODRUFF May 11, 2025
Affectionately known as “Bart”, Sharon Kay Woodruff of Rowe, NM passed away peacefully on Mother’s Day 2025 at the age of 78.
She is survived by her two children William and Kathryn, her daughter-in-law Holly, and her grandson Horton.
Originally from Lafayette, Indiana, she attended Dayton High School and then Purdue University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design.
She was married to William Woodruff Sr. from 1971 to 1989. She worked as a buyer for fabric stores in Lafayette and Princeton, NJ before starting her own business, Bart’s Art, to create educational materials for young children, then later became a Teacher’s Aide at Mountain Elementary School in Los Alamos.
In 1988, she was awarded an educational grant from the Rho chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary society for female educators. She received her Master of Arts in Training and Learning Technologies from the University of New Mexico in 1994, which helped start her career at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. As a Staff Member at Los Alamos, she was a Training Specialist and eventually the Training Team Leader at TA-55, then joined the Bioscience division as Senior Staff Specialist in 2000. She later became Deputy Group Leader of B-7.
She retired from the Lab in 2008 and took on the challenge of designing and building a new home in Rowe, NM. Her lifelong pursuit of the arts included drawing, painting, pottery, photography, and sculpture. Her love of music blossomed at the Kerrville Folk Festival, with decades of dedicated attendance. She loved sewing her own clothing and passed that skill on to her children.
Over the years, many beloved dogs and cats were fortunate enough to share her home, and the lizards were happy to inhabit her gardens. Bart was a caring mother, a loyal friend, an artist, an educator, and an inspiration to those who may wish to reinvent themselves.
A memorial celebration of her life will be held on Oct. 26, 2025, from 1pm to 3pm at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos.