Howell Dale Woodling

Howell Dale Woodling June 3, 1950 -- December 18, 2018 Howell Dale Woodling was born on June 3, 1950 in Pueblo, Colorado to Catherine (MacDougall) Woodling and Robert Lee Woodling. Catherine (Kay) was from Philadelphia (parents, William MacDougall and Margret Jane [Belford] MacDougall). Howell's father was born in Needles, California, with the family moving La Junta in 1926 (parents Rae Lee Woodling and Hulda [Olson] Woodling). He was a life-long resident of Pueblo County, who moved from Pueblo to Colorado City in about 1978. Howie, as he was known to his friends, lived in Colorado City in his A-Frame on Buckskin Drive for the remainder of his life. Howell died of natural causes at home on December 18, 2018. Howell attended Somerlid and Thatcher Elementary Schools, Freed Junior High School and graduated from Centennial High School in 1968. Howell attended Southern Colorado State College and later received an Associates' Degree in Applied Science from Pueblo Community College in 1984. Howie worked at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Steel Mill from 1970 through 1986, first as a furnaceman at the Open Hearth, 'cooking' steel until 1976. He then moved to the Seamless Tube Mill as a machine operator. His cut the threads on both pipe and couplings to tolerances of thousandths on an inch. Following the murder of the Pueblo C.F.&I. Steel Mill, Howie began working at the Hollydot Golf Course in Colorado City. Howie found his true calling at Hollydot. According to his friends and coworkers, Howie 'bled Hollydot green.' He started as a groundskeeper but had a variety of positions from Head of Irrigation, Head of Maintenance and Equipment to Superintendent in his more than three decades of time at the golf course. He had a Class 'A' certification from the Golf Course Superintendent Association. Multiple coworkers describe him as 'meticulous' and very precise in all his projects, from maintaining and repairing the reels of mowing machines to fixing the electronic controllers for the irrigation systems. If Howie did not know how to do something, he took the manuals home and taught himself. He appeared to be most satisfied with the work he and George Brooks did together in planting and growing fairways, roughs and greens of the back nine in the 1980s. One of his favorite times of the day was drinking a cup of coffee while sitting on a mower, very early each morning before mowing the putting greens, although he sometimes mowed only half of green 6, to the amusement of co-workers. Howell retired in 2012 but often worked as a volunteer at Hollydot. His other passions were playing pool (He was really good) and spending time with friends. Howie had an ability to make friends. People throughout Colorado City knew him and claimed him as a friend. Howie's friends organized a pool tournament in his honor after his death. Funds were raised to construct a bench on the fairway at Hollydot in his name. He would have appreciated this act. Howell was also a dutiful son, helping his mother after his father passed away. All Howie's friends knew that Saturday morning was his time to drive to Pueblo to 'help mom.' They often went to lunch, often for Mexican food. Howie is survived by his brother John Woodling (Myrna) who lives in Denver, Colorado and many friends in Pueblo County. Howie was a good, kind man. He is missed. A memorial service will be planned in Colorado City in April of 2019.