Motivated by the love of God, the invisible source of all goodness, Michael Joseph Woodruff, lived a very full life and passed away at 81 on August 6, 2026, a resident of Tucson, Arizona. Throughout his life, he was passionate about and consistently demonstrated his love for his fellow human beings. He will be missed for his kindness, generosity and joy in life. The Salvation Army would say that he was "promoted to glory." The following verse from Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) enriched his life: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Born March 4, 1945, in Pasadena, CA to Marvin and Esther Woodruff, public school teachers, the family moved from Arcadia, CA to Santa Barbara, CA in 1959 where he played football, tennis and track, and graduated with honors from San Marcos High School in 1963. He attended Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA for two years, where he participated in intercollegiate debate and played piano with the Trumpet Trio, a music group that travelled to churches in New England. He transferred to UCSB in 1965, where he was active in Gaucho Christian Fellowship, serving as its president in 1967, and enjoyed swimming, fencing and golf. He received a BA in History from UCSB in 1967. After serving for two years on the field staff of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Southern California, he attended Farel House, L'Abri Fellowship, Switzerland in 1970, studying Christian apologetics and contemporary culture under Dr. Francis Schaeffer. 

He decided to pursue a career in law, graduating from UCLA School of Law (1972), where he was a member of the UCLA-Alaska Law Review. He practiced law in Santa Barbara for 13 years. Moving to Burke, Virginia in 1985, he became a member of the Virginia Bar with an emphasis on constitutional law and a U.S. Supreme Court practice. He directed the Center for Law and Religious Freedom from 1985-1990 and was the acting executive director of the Christian Legal Society in 1990. As a national spokesperson on religious freedom, he traveled throughout the country. He was a featured speaker at a religious liberty forum at the Washington National Cathedral. He traveled to Israel in 1988, presented a paper on human rights at the World Congress on Evangelization in Manila, Philippines in 1989, helped Senator Johan Burgelia establish nonprofit law for the first time in the country of Romania. He became a partner in the law firm of Gammon & Grange, P.C., located in McLean, VA, where he specialized in nonprofit law, trusts and estates. As adjunct faculty, he taught graduate students at George Mason University and the Loyola College of Maryland and undergraduates at Eastern Nazarene College. He was honored as alumnus of the year by Eastern Nazarene College.

 In 2002 he volunteered service as president and CEO of the Charles Malik Foundation until he became General Counsel to The Salvation Army, Western Territory, in Long Beach, CA in 2004, serving as a corporate director and corporate secretary for the parent corporation and its many subsidiaries. He pioneered the role of in-house General Counsel for The Salvation Army, serving as chair of The Salvation Army's National Legal Commission, and leading the Legal Department at the Western Territorial Headquarters. He became a soldier in The Salvation Army’s corps in Micronesia in 2011.

He was truly a Renaissance man. He ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 1993, took scuba and sailing lessons, sailed the Newport to Ensenada Race in 2010, explored Santa Cruz Island's Painted Cave by kayak in 2013, and took a 2,000-mile solo motorcycle trip through the Southwest US. He was an avid reader. His interests included the study of Christianity in ancient and modern Persia, the principles behind equitable remedies, and the contemporary implications of ignorance about, and disbelief in, the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. He wrote book reviews, a law review article, co-authored a book on risk management, and published a book of his poetry and photographs called "Pilgrim Passage" for family and friends. An excellent pianist with a great love for the music of J.S. Bach, Glenn Gould, and Oscar Peterson, he played keyboards for a Persian church worship band. He researched Woodruff genealogy and visited a family heritage site at Fordwich, England. During the pandemic, he wrote hundreds of sermons while leading in-house church services. In recent years, he was Chairman of the Foothills Forum in Tucson, guiding the organization with his insight, leadership and commitment to its educational speaker programs.

He is survived by his loving wife, spiritual partner and soulmate, Teri Woodruff (nee Taraneh Bahrami); sister, Kathleen Roemer, of Salem, OR; brother, Patrick Woodruff (Mei) of Yucaipa, CA; son Matthew Woodruff (Mary Beth), of Solvang, CA, and grandchildren Aidan, Henry, and Claire; son Tobin Woodruff (Julie) of Fairport, NY, and grandchildren Kathryn and Laura; and daughter Megan Nerdig (Matthew) of Whitefish, MT, and grandchildren Adeline and Ava; Jean Trautwein Woodruff (mother of his children); as well as many nieces, nephew, cousins, colleagues, and dear friends. Within the past ten years he became a father figure to his gardener, Marco and his three sons, as well as his unofficial godchildren, Armagan and Rahsan Durdag - renowned musicians of Istanbul, Turkey.

A memorial service celebrating his life will be held on October 23, 2026, at 10:30 A.M., at King of Grace Anglican Church, 5800 E. Santa Fee, Tucson, AZ 85715, followed by fellowship at the Tucson Country Club, 2950 N. Camino Principal, Tucson, AZ 85715. For those who would like to donate on his behalf, his most recent favored charities were: SAT-7, a Christian satellite television network broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa (www.sat7.org); Elam Ministries, a global organization supporting and equipping the church in Persian speaking regions (www.elam.com); Oak Seed Ministries International, founded by his friend Edward Bradley in 1992 (www.oakseed.org); Michael supported the nonprofits: National Association of Scholars, fostering intellectual freedom (www.nas.org); Polyhymnia, founded by his friend Danial Asia, advancing the cultural foundations of a free society (www.polyhymnia); and Santa Barbara Strings, an organization founded by his daughter-in-law Mary Beth Woodruff, training young classical musicians (www.SantaBarbaraStrings.org).