Mr. Stanley C. Woods

Stanley Crawford Woods went to be with the Lord on Thursday, the 20th of June 2013, after 90 amazing years. A joyous blessing to his wife, children, step-children, and countless friends and extended family, Stanley was quick to laugh, never met a stranger, was infused with an infectious optimism, was generous to a fault, and was always there for anyone in need.

Stanley had a zeal for life and family, for golf and oil, and for law and politics. He cared for everyone around him and touched countless lives in his 90 years. Stanley will be sorely missed.

He is predeceased by his brothers Dr. George T. Woods, Dr. Hugh J. Woods, Dr. Dwight S. Woods and by his youngest son James R. Woods. He is survived by his son Stanley C. Woods Jr. and his daughter Ann Bozeman. He is also survived by his wife Harriette C. Woods and four step-children: Kathi Wagnon and husband Mitch, Ginger Jackson, Jan Edwards and husband Bill, and Bill Jackson and wife Shawn. He also leaves five grandchildren he dearly loved: Laura Edwards, Mary Catherine Edwards, Meg Wagnon, Catherine Jackson, and Will Jackson.

Mr. Woods was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on the 19th of September 1922, to Samuel B. and Hattie C. Woods. His father came from Missouri and his mother was born in the Indian Territory. She received her teaching certificate from the University of Colorado during WWI. Stanley grew up in Caney, Kansas, from his third year in elementary school until 1940 when he graduated from Caney High School. In World War II, he volunteered for the U. S. Marine Corp., entered the Officer’s Candidate School, and was granted a medical discharge prior to the ending of the war. He graduated from Coffeyville Community College in 1942. He became a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity while attending Kansas University where he received his B.A. degree in 1945. He graduated from the University of Texas with a (LLB) Degree in 1948 and received his license to practice law in Texas later that year. He worked for Pure Oil Company out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for one year. In 1949, he moved to Houston where he continued to do legal work. In 1959, he formed two oil and gas companies: Woods Exploration and Producing Company and Southeastern Pipeline Company. In 1960, on behalf of his business, he filed an anti-trust suit in Federal Court against the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) and Crown Central Petroleum Company under the Federal Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Another suit was filed in a Texas District Court under the Texas State Anti-Trust Act. After winning four Texas Supreme Court decisions, there were two jury trials in Federal Court in Houston with the last trial, in 1972, presided over by former U. S. Supreme Court Justice, Tom Clark, an acclaimed anti-trust law expert. The U.S. Supreme Court sustained each jury verdict won by Mr. Woods and the suit came to fruition in October 1975. It is considered one of the longest-fought private litigation anti-trust suits in United States history (1960-1975). The case has been cited in over 700 cases being litigated in Federal Courts.

Stanley Woods was a force throughout the oil industry. In the early 60’s, he was instrumental in forming the Texas Landowners and Independent Oil and Gas Producers Association composed of approximately 6,500 landowners and small Texas producers. The late Olin Culbertson, a former Texas Railroad Commissioner and a friend of the independents, urged him to form such an organization composed of land owners and oil and gas independents. This group effectively lobbied against forced utilization of lands in the Texas Legislature. The Texas Supreme Court decision won by Mr. Woods on forced unitization saved approximately 25,000 wells from being permanently shut-in. By putting all the oil and gas fields on 100% acreage as the major oil companies wanted, thousands of individual owners of oil and gas mineral properties would have been paid only a pittance for their interest. Mr. Woods was assisted by the AFL-CIO, individual members of the Farm Bureau and the Farmers Union, and by individual county judges and county commissioners throughout Texas.

He testified before the U. S. Senate Finance Committee in support of oil and gas depletion and before the Texas Railroad Commission hearings to set a higher number of producing days for domestic producers so that our country would have less reliance on foreign oil. He ran for Governor of Texas in 1966. Although he lost the election, many of the issues he raised were subsequently addressed. In the legislature’s first session after the election, they passed the state’s first minimum wage law, $1.25 an hour; vocational technical training in Texas schools; more medical and nursing schools; and lastly, to use the governor’s office to bring in new industry to smaller communities in Texas. Also, along with another party during the 1966 Texas primary campaign, he filed a suit against the State Democratic Executive Committee to extend registration for voting. Because the U. S. Supreme Court struck down the poll tax as a requisite for voting, a Texas court granted their request. As a result, 600,000 new voters registered to vote, making this the first free vote in the state of Texas.

In the early 1960’s, President Kennedy appointed Mr. Woods to the job of educating Texans as to the benefits of Medicare. (Prior to the initiation of Medicare, the state of Texas required a poverty affidavit before obtaining any medical relief.) Mr. Woods helped bring together over 2,000 people in Houston who were then addressed by Senator Clint Anderson of New Mexico. He informed Mr. Woods that because he had made a considerable amount of money in the insurance business, he knew private industry could not make sufficient profits to warrant their insuring seniors. With Medicare’s implementation, Mr. Woods was able to see literally millions of people saved from early death and avoid personal bankruptcy through the non-payment of their medical bills. Stanley believed that this was the most important public service victory of all his political endeavors.

Stanley was a long time member of the Texas Independent Royalty Owners Association, the ABA, the Texas Bar, the Houston Club, Sweetwater Country Club, and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o’clock this afternoon until seven o’clock this evening, Sunday, the 23rd of June, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Monday, the 24th of June, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Road in Houston, where Dr. Boyd Wagner is to officiate.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during the reception in the adjacent Hines Baker Room.

Prior to the service, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in Mr. Woods’ name be directed to the Star of Hope Mission, 6897 Ardmore St., Houston, TX, 77054.