FAMU College of Law Mourns Loss of Student
Funeral Service Information
The funeral for the Woodard family will be held at Greater Hopewell Baptist Church, in Ocala, Fla., on Saturday, July 21 at 11 a.m. Attorney Natalie Jackson, with the Garfinkel Trial Group in Maitland, Fla., is serving as the family attorney and is handling inquiries on behalf of the Woodard family. Attorney Jackson can be reached at (407) 272-3027.
Updated: July 16, 2007.
FAMU College of Law Mourns Loss of Student
Tragic airplane crash hits home, ignites and kills mother and child, one neighbor; 3 more injured
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida A&M University College of Law family is mourning the tragic death of first-year law student Janise Joseph Woodard, 24, who along with her 6-month-old son, Joseph, died in a fire at their Sanford home Tuesday morning after a neighbor’s house was struck by a small airplane. Officials have reported that a plane that was attempting an emergency landing at the Orlando Sanford International Airport struck one home that burst into flames and later spread to Joseph’s home. As of Tuesday evening, at least five people were killed; the pilot, his passenger, Joseph, her infant son and a 4-year-old girl. At least three others – the girl’s brother and parents -- were critically injured.
Joseph, a student in the FAMU College of Law’s Part-Time Evening Program, was scheduled to attend class Tuesday night. When her Criminal Law class convened at 6:30 p.m., administrators and professors were there to break the news and express condolences to Joseph’s classmates.
“In recognition of -- and out of respect for what we are all feeling, we will not have formal class tonight,” said Interim Law School Dean Ruth A. Witherspoon. Instead, she indicated that the time would best be used as an opportunity for the students to express their loss and to support one another. Witherspoon provided the more than 50 students with the names and telephone numbers of a university grief counselor and others who will make themselves available to students, faculty and staff. She urged the students to grieve in whatever fashion they felt comfortable and to call the counselor for help, if needed. (Toll free: 1-877-326-6397 or 1-877-FAM-NEWS)
Witherspoon fondly recalled Joseph as the conscientious young lady who approached her after orientation. She wanted the dean to know that she had a family and that she and her husband, Joseph Woodard, were expecting another child; she wanted to consider switching from the Full-Time Day Program to the Part-Time Evening Program. “Janise was very concerned about being able to give her best to both her family and her studies,” Witherspoon said.
Fellow students described Joseph as an “incredible student” who was “unselfish and giving,” and who often took time to encourage and pray with students who were struggling with the arduous task of attending law school while managing a family.
Fellow law student, Ursula Uelze, described Joseph as a “wonderful person.”
“I learned something new from her every day.”
Another of her classmates, Nikeisha Ford said: “Janise balanced law school, a family and a healthy marriage. And she did it well.”
Natalie Jackson, an attorney with the Garfinkel Trial Group in Maitland, is serving as the family attorney. She is handling inquiries on behalf of the Woodard family. Janise Woodard was a paralegal in Jackson’s office. (407-272-3027).
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Posted by the Office of Public Affairs: (850) 599-3413
College of Law contact: Mildred Graham (407) 254-3206
