Two of Davis Gray's watercolor paintings of the NIU Campus, circa 1970's

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Thomas Emil Woodstrup was born April 30, 1925 in Chicago.  A graduate of Thornton High School in Harvey, Illinois, he served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946.  An English major at Northern Illinois State Teachers College, he served as editor of the Northern Illinois.  Both he and his future wife Patricia Vaillancourt graduated in 1949, and they married in 1950.  He also received additional degrees: a Masters in Education from University of Illinois in Urbana, a Masters of Business Administration from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies from NIU.  Woodstrup held a number of jobs over the years including English and Speech teacher at Milledgeville and Argo High Schools, in the personnel department of United Air Lines in Chicago, and in Kane County government in Geneva. In September 1960 Woodstrup joined NIU’s Alumni Association Executive Board.  He served as the Director of Alumni Relations from 1966 to 1973, and then as the Business Programs Coordinator for NIU’s Adult Education Department, from 1973 to 1975.  Among his many outside interests were that of Boy Scout leader for over 40 years, founder of the Sycamore Historical Society and Museum, and president of the DeKalb County Historical Society. Tom and Patricia were married for 53, and had five children.  Following Patricia’s death he married Lorraine Ulrich in 2004.  He died March 8, 2008 at his home in Sycamore.