Richard Heywood “Woody” Tarbuck

MOUNT VERNON – Richard Heywood “Woody” Tarbuck (only bill collectors called him Richard) passed away peacefully on Oct. 13, 2024, at 82 years old.

Woody was born to Richard B. and Phyllis (Janes) Tarbuck in Boston, Mass., three days before Pearl Harbor.

Woody grew up in Danvers, Mass., graduating from Holten High School in 1959. He went to UMass on a football scholarship but only played for one year. After earning a pre-med degree he got a job, got married to Evelyn Pike and had two sons, Brian and Leigh. After his first marriage ended, Woody and the two boys found themselves at home in Pittston at the apartment building Woody cared for until his last days. Woody met Jan, and in 1984 they married, which introduced Jan’s daughters Lori and Shauna, into the mix.

Woody loved projects and was happiest when he was working. Or eating. It’s a tossup. His career lacked any kind of linearity. e started in veterinary pharmaceuticals. Then he went to work for the public health service which brought him from Savannah, Ga. to Hallowell. And ultimately to Pittston where he briefly owned the Pittston General Store which was famously “open eight days” a week. Then he worked in Boothbay Harbor for a small engine business which he bought and then moved to the Pittston location. Later, he joined up with Kurt Jewett and they became lifelong friends, working together on old buildings that needed to be jacked up, repaired and reset. Around this time, he met Jan who taught school and had summers off. Thinking that looked pretty good, Woody went back to school and earned his master’s degree in education from UMaine by driving from their house in Mount Vernon to Orono and back after work. As a teacher he also had summers off but instead of relaxing he would work on buildings, cars, and his real passion, lawnmowers. At one time he owned upwards of 10 lawnmowers. Some of them worked. All of them had a story.

Woody turned out to be a pretty good teacher which his sons found odd after ‘helping’ him in the shop by retrieving tools from locations that only Woody knew. “Get me the umm, well, it’s over behind the, umm, hurry it up will you please!”. He got hired by Maranacook and worked with kids who, like himself, grew up in homes that were difficult at times. Not one to throw away a good freezer door, he repurposed his sister’s freezer door and bolted it to the wall in a shared classroom. Kids were elated when they scored well on an exam and it got stuck on the freezer door as a “refrigerator paper” worthy of sharing with the world. Teaching was where he made his biggest impact which has been recounted by dozens of former students.

He leaves behind his loving wife, Janet of nearly 40 years. They had a lot of adventures together and made lots of memories and friends along the way, particularly at Menatoma where they had a camp on Lovejoy Pond. Woody never really took to the laid back part of camp but he loved fixing the roads or cutting trees or helping with the sewer or taking the water tests.

Woody leaves behind several grandchildren, Gabriel, Lauren, Alicia, Cooper, Henry, Eden, Caleb, Harper, and Mila. He cherished his sister, Leslie, who was his best friend, and her children, Candace and Garrett who adored Uncle Woody.

Woody will be buried at the Baldwin Hill Conservation Cemetery in Fayette on Friday, Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m. followed by an informal reception in the downstairs of the Weathervane Restaurant from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Arrangements and guidance are in the care of Roberts Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 62 Bowdoin St., Winthrop. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Stetson’s Funeral Home website, http://www.khrfuneralhomes.com

In lieu of flowers,

Woody would ask you to spend time with friends, teach someone to read or

fix their lawnmower.