Miriam Woodford King, Class of 1947

Miriam Woodford King ’47 died Nov. 11, 2020. She was born at home near Akron (Portage Lakes) on 10/12/24 to the late Clyde and Ruth Woodford.

Miriam grew up singing in church and at weddings; starting so young she had to stand on a stool to sing on the radio. She went on to earn a degree in vocal music performance at Otterbein College, where she was active in choir, band, student government, and the Tau Delta (Deltas) sorority. She also served on the 1947 Golden Reunion committee and was a Lifetime Presidents Club Member.

Miriam had worked on building the “corsair” at Goodyear Aviation as part of the war effort to pay for college, and met her late husband, Wendell ’48, at Otterbein after his military service. They shared everything, even including the same birthday year/date and laughingly referred to themselves as “the twins.”

Miriam taught music in Cleveland public schools, performed with the Akron Symphony chorus, and created/directed a group of doctors’ wives who performed 25 years. Her last venture was to organize and direct a co-ed chorus at Primrose Retirement Center where she and her husband lived.

Miriam was talented musically but also excelled in growing flowers and creating many award winning flower arrangements over the years. Routinely she provided her flower creations to Primrose for all to enjoy and became known by residents as the “flower lady.” She developed an interest in creating artistic greeting cards using her dried blooms and seeds, which she generously sent to family and friends, who no doubt cherish them.

Miriam is survived by her sons, Dan ’75 (Rosalie), Phil (Luanne Kornegy), Jeff (Leslie); grandchildren, Natalie King, Briana (Ben) Meeker, Bryan King (Dena Eltervoog), Audra King (Ben Saffell) and Lauren (David) Galipp. She loved her 8 great grandchildren, referring to them as her “grandorables.”