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Letter to the editor

Virus gave him the strength to warn others

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published November 9, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Duane Woods contracted HIV in the 1980s in a relationship with a woman he loved. He gave lectures at schools telling kids to abstain from sex and use protection. He died Tuesday at age 44.

SPRING HILL - He wrestled with his own reality. He hated that he had the virus. Only a handful of his friends even knew.

But what good is a story if you can't tell it?

So he'd find the strength to lecture to students and lay it out - his name was Duane Woods. He was a married, straight man who contracted HIV in the 1980s in a relationship with a woman he loved.

He told kids to abstain from sex. And take protection very seriously. And don't stereotype.

He delivered his message, handsome, stout and healthy, with the virus inside.

* * *

Jeannie Woods' first husband died in 1992. She had four children. She was distraught and wouldn't leave the house.

Her sister prodded her to apply at a local deli, where a real "doll baby" name Duane worked. She postponed the interview because of a bad hair day.

The next day, she fell in love.

On date one, they heard No Rain by Blind Melon. Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today, so stay with me and I'll have it made.

He had blue eyes and dark hair, a biting wit and a rough childhood. He had HIV.

She didn't care.

* * *

He did everything full out - good or bad.

Mr. Woods struggled with alcohol and substance abuse. He had trouble with the law, mostly driving related. With the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, he sobered up for good five years ago, Mrs. Woods said.

The school lectures helped him feel purpose. A Hernando HIV support group his wife started helped him feel normal.

He could schmooze anyone in the room. He loved to use his hands. When he should have been in bed, his family found him on the roof cleaning the gutter and outside building a flower bed.

When a friend had a heart attack this year, Mr. Woods performed CPR until paramedics came. Earlier that day, Mr. Woods had been in the hospital for his own ailments.

"As sick as Duane was, he was trying to breathe life into this man," she said.

He had hepatitis C and Parkinson's and adrenal disease and dementia, his wife said. He didn't like to know details - just the medicine that would make it feel better.

Bowling was his release. In life, Mr. Woods bowled five perfect games. He bowled every week, and even spent time working at the local alley.

He eventually told his boss about the HIV and offered to quit, his wife said. But they accepted him there.

Sunday, he bowled three games - a 158, a 197 and a 196.

Tuesday, Mr. Woods died. He was 44.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

Biography

Duane Woods

Born: Aug. 11, 1963.

Died: Nov. 6, 2007.

Survivors: wife, Jeannie Woods; mom, Jacqueline Kennedy; children, Cyrinda, Robert, Frankie and John Davis; grandchildren, Jasmya Willis and Jeremiah Willis; brother, John Woods and his wife Barbara; sister, Kristin Woods.

[Last modified November 8, 2007, 22:55:30]