Former commissioner, educator has died

LUMBERTON – During his last meeting as a member of the Robeson County Board of Commissioners in November 2018, Noah Woods was presented a gift, praised for shaping politics throughout the state and remembered as a friend.

Woods, who at the time was one of the longest-serving elected officials in the county, having worked with the board since 1990, passed away Friday.

He was 85.

Woods was a Robeson County native.

He held the position of principal at various schools in the county.

“Mr. Woods was a true public servant after serving over 28 years on the county board of commissioners,” Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins posted on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. “He served his constituents to the best of his ability and was a well-respected citizen of our county. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mr. Woods.”

His wife, Ruth Dial Woods, died in June. She was a highly respected activist, retired educator, former associate superintendent of the Public Schools of Robeson County and former interim administrator for the Lumbee Tribal Government.

When Kellie Blue began her tenure as the county manager, she called Woods one of her mentors.

“Mr. Noah Woods cherished the Great State of Robeson and tirelessly advocated for its citizens across North Carolina and the United States,” reads a statement from Blue posted on the county’s social media sites. “He exemplified public service, governing with grace and dignity. His absence will be felt not only in the county he loved but also in the many lives he touched during his travels.”

Commissioner David Edge served eight years on the board with Woods, finding him to be a gentleman.

“He was always a gentleman. It was just part of his nature,” Edge said Tuesday. “He tried to help me in any way when I joined the board. He never gave much of an opinion on things. He was kind of like the moderator.”

Woods was the chairman of the board the entire time Edge worked with him.

“I would definitely say he was a good commissioner. Nobody had any problems with him,” Edge said. “He was just a nice guy.”

According to his obituary, Woods was a 1962 graduate of what was then Pembroke State University. He received his master’s 10 years later from East Carolina University.

In 1962, Woods started his career in public education which continued through July 2000.

“He had a desire to meet the needs of his family as well as the community in which he served as a Robeson County commissioner for 28 years,” Woods obit states.

Among other activities, he served as chairman of the county Board of Health, was a longtime member and committee chair/officer of the Pembroke Jaycees, a founder of the Riverside Country Club in Pembroke and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Robeson County Historical Drama.

For more than three decades, the obit says, Woods served his community as an educator and public servant and was committed to make a difference in the life of anyone he met.

According to the obituary, “He financially supported children and others who desired to participate in local and outside church missions and activities.”