Jesse Collier Woods passed away in Dallas, Texas on June 21st, surprising no one with his drive to pursue treatment and extend his time with his family until the very end. Desperately missing him are his beloved daughter Charlotte, who has Jesse's humor and courage, and his adoring wife of 19 years, Sarah, to whom Jesse loyally devoted every day of his life since the age of 16. Also mourning Jesse are his parents, Ed and Mary Lou, his parents-in-law, Dick and Kathy Schneider, and his in-laws turned siblings, Adam and Monica and Tyler and Katie, whose sons (Holden and Jameson) and daughters (Addison, Sinclair, and Sloane) have lost the funniest family member at the table.

Jesse declared himself future law enforcement at a very young age, listening to police scanners and reading law enforcement autobiographies to learn about the work as early as possible. Sarah met him at 12, when his confidence and wit foretold his future career, and their future romance. Unflappable in his missions, Jesse achieved a criminal justice degree at Buffalo State College while using multiple modes of transportation to visit Sarah in Rochester, biding his time to propose. After graduation, Jesse served as a Police Officer in the Virginia Beach Police Department, where his devotion to public service and his reputation as a kind and generous colleague were cemented. A few summers later, he and Sarah married in a lakeside wedding in Aurora, NY that was full of laughter and dancing. They would be back to NY soon after, for Jesse to join the NY State Department of Labor as an Investigator. Relocation to Florida to support Sarah's education was done without pause, and was quickly followed by Jesse joining Homeland Security Investigations as a Special Agent in 2010. The seriousness and importance of his most recent work in preventing human trafficking, as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge, did not diminish Jesse's affability. He was a treasured coworker and generous leader, constantly finding opportunities to lift others up – in spirit and in rank. Jesse persisted as an uncommonly caring, inspiring, and loyal member of law enforcement until the day he died.

Jesse was tall in stature and large in life. Brilliant and brave, he was a gifted storyteller and always one or two steps ahead. Endlessly driven to create fun, he had the ability to make everyone around him feel like they were already a part of his next adventure. His grin lit up rooms and the people in them. Jesse's great capacity for love uplifted Sarah and Charlotte, and shaped them into women who knew true love and this energy multiplied over the last 6 years when Jesse's enthusiasm for exploring with his family became the bucket list of a lifetime. He died before discovering what, if anything, he wouldn't do for them.

There is no amount of time with Jesse that would have been enough for his family and friends, but his early death is an even greater loss because we know how much more there is to miss. If you would like to join in honoring Jesse's life, and grieving his passing, services include visitation at 6-8pm on Friday, June 26th (Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home in Lewisville) and a funeral at 11:30am on Saturday, June 27th (St. Mark Catholic Church in Argyle). A memorial service in Syracuse will be planned for a later date.

Jesse loved Cape Cod hydrangeas and set up a monthly delivery of flowers for his home to make sure his wife felt loved after he was gone. He did not, however, enjoy the smell of lilies, so in lieu of sending these, consider planning your next vacation in his honor, or sharing with the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation which helps support and empower patients and families like ours.