John Woodworth; Former Santa Paula Mayor

Former Santa Paula Mayor John West’lee Woodworth died Monday at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital from complications of diabetes. He was 81.

Woodworth had fallen ill April 17 after returning from one of his thrice-weekly games of bridge, a hobby he took up about 10 years ago, said his wife, Theda.

He was born Aug. 14, 1915, in San Diego. He moved to Santa Paula 48 years ago as stationmaster for Southern Pacific Railroad, a position he held until his retirement in 1978.

He served on the City Council from 1956 to 1960, the last two years as mayor, his wife said. It was a time when council members received $5 for every meeting they attended, she added.

During Woodworth’s council tenure, the freeway portion of California 126 was built, linking the agricultural community with Ventura. In addition, the council approved construction of the city’s first mobile-home park, a controversial issue at the time. Woodworth narrowly lost a bid for a second council term, his wife said.

“He was very outspoken,” she said. “If he had views, he expressed them.”

An avid orchid grower, he had hundreds of orchids and, in the 1960s, opened Casa de Flores flower shop in the former Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog store on Main Street.

“For a while, the crew there would make corsages for all the rest homes and deliver them on Mother’s Day,” Theda Woodworth said, adding that the gesture was his way of giving back to the community.

Woodworth was a former president of the local Kiwanis Club and a gourmet cook whose specialties included pumpkin and lemon pie.

In addition to his wife of 54 years, survivors include one daughter, Jill Rode of Northridge; one son, John Woodworth of Clayton, Calif., and two grandchildren.

Private family services will be held in the couple’s garden, where he spent many hours tending his orchids and other flowers.