John Jay Woolems' Obituary
John Jay Woolems was born on June 17, 1926, in Okemah, Oklahoma. His parents died when he was young, so he was raised primarily in Houston by his grandmothers and aunts.
He graduated from Milby High School in 1944, and immediately joined the US Navy where he served as an EMC3 during World War II on the USS Admiral W. S. Sims in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he attended the University of Houston where he received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and was a Phi Beta Kappa. He paid his way through college as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray's School of Dance.
Not long after his college graduation, he met the love of his life, Dolores Sage, at a square dance. They married in 1951 and moved to Dallas soon after where he worked for General American Life as a mortgage banker for 39 years and taught Real Estate Appraisal at SMU for 20 years. Throughout the years, he served as President of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and the Dallas Mortgage Bankers Association.
Those who knew John described him as kind, generous, intelligent, disciplined, competitive, a workout enthusiast, and an overall great man and friend. He was an avid golfer with 5 holes-in-one, countless tournament wins and was the Brookhaven Country Club Senior Golf Champion at the age of 90.
98 years is a long time and there is not nearly enough room here to include all of his accomplishments. He loved Jesus and was a great mentor and role model for so many people and has impacted all of our lives forever.
John Woolems is survived by his wife Judy, his daughter Julie Woolems Doshier, Son-in-law Todd Doshier and 2 grandsons, Ryan Doshier and Tyler Doshier.
A funeral service for John will be held Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 2:00 pm at Restland Funeral Home's Memorial Chapel, 13005 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75243, with a reception following at the Restland Funeral Home Event Center. A private burial will occur at a later date.
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