Mechanical Engineer Steve Hugh Woodard Dies at 78 After Decades of Innovating Gas Turbine Engines

Steve Hugh Woodard, a 78-year-old mechanical engineer and entrepreneur, passed away on September 7, 2026, at his home in Mesa, Arizona. He was born in June 1948 in Circle, Montana, to Gordon K. Smith and Adelaide M. (Evans) Smith, but was adopted by John and Lee Woodard who raised him as an only child.

Woodard graduated valedictorian from Alchesay High School in Whiteriver, Arizona, and later earned a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University in 1971. After college, he worked as a sales engineer for audio measuring equipment in Alberta, Canada, and also taught audiology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus.

In the 1980s, Woodard moved back to the Valley and started a family with his wife Paulette. He then worked for Air Research, now known as Honeywell, in Phoenix, designing and manufacturing gas turbine engines for over 30 years. During this time, he traveled extensively around the world to perform quality checks at various subcontractor plants.

After retiring from Air Research, Woodard found contentment in his family's cabin in Forest Lakes, Arizona, where he spent his later years. He is survived by his wife Paulette and their two sons, Michael and Hayden, as well as several grandchildren and a biological sister, Delores Thompson.