Craig Woodward

Craig Woodward died on May 1 due to complications from cancer. After Yale, he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia, where met and married the love of his life, Anneke Knoppers, who was attending Columbia Law School. They graduated on the same day. After completing his internship year in New York City, he and Anneka moved to Atlanta, where he continued his internal medicine residency and a year in a cardiology fellowship, both in the Grady/Emory program, then he went into private practice for 38 years before retiring in 2016. Medicine wasn’t just a vocation for him; it was his avocation, too. He cared deeply for his patients’ welfare and valued their friendships. He volunteered for many worthy causes, including the Salvation Army and Childspring International. More recently, he found great joy in his five grandchildren. He truly loved playing with them and acting silly to their great delight. ‘PopPop’ was often placed in ‘time out.’ He also had a huge spirit of adventure and loved to travel. During medical school he traveled to and spent most of a summer in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and India, which provided the basis of many stories told over the years. Later Craig delighted in planning trips (with Anneke implementing the plans if a computer was required), including hunting on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, biking in Europe, exploring the Galapagos, and hiking on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Craig could be counted to provide humor at any gathering. At home he loved reading, and he was always ready to read Anneke’s book club selections. They were married for 47 years.