Obituary of Saralyn Lankford Woods

Saralyn Lankford Woods, a 29 year Darien resident, passed away suddenly Wednesday, March 26 at Stamford Hospital. She was 59. Saralyn was born in 1948 in Galveston, TX, the daughter of the late Charles Ely Lankford, Head of the Department of Microbiology at The University of Texas at Austin, and Mary E. Darnell Lankford. Saralyn was schooled in Thailand, and grew up in Austin, attending Stephen F. Austin High School. She graduated from Smith College and obtained an MBA from Columbia University where she was Beta Gamma Sigma. From there she pursued a career in Finance working at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Exxon Corporation, General Motors Paris France, where she lived for three years, and International Paper Corporation. In 1970 she married Robert E. Woods, Jr. and they moved to Darien in 1980. Saralyn was a well known community leader in many civic and social organizations. She was elected to the Board of Finance, the Representative Town Meeting and served on the Elementary School Building Committee. Saralyn was President of the Smith Club, and the League of Women Voters while also acting as Treasurer of the Darien Historical Society. Among her Board activities were the Obie Harrington-Howes Foundation, The Friends of Goodwives River and The Friends of Gorhams Pond. She was active at the Tokeneke and Wee Burn Clubs. She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Bob Woods and their two children, Avery and Baker and her sister Mary Lee Lankford Morris of Houston. Bob, Sr. and Geraldine Woods of Darien are her in-laws. A memorial service will be held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1864 Post Road in Darien on Saturday, April 5 at 2:00 PM. There will be a reception in the church hall after the memorial service. In lieu of flowers, donations my be made on her behalf to the Charles Ely Lankford Memorial Scholarship Fund; School of Biological Sciences, ESB2; The University of Texas at Austin; 1 University Station, A6500; Austin, TX 78712. Please name The Charles Ely Lankford Scholarship Fund as well as your full name and address. For more information go to utdirect.utexas.edu or contact the family. Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820