Category: 2008

Lauren Boyce Woodall Roady ’08, loving wife, daughter, and sister, died on Dec. 8, 2012, in an accident in Lexington, Ky. She was an exceptionally talented runner; she was in Lexington to compete in the U.S.A. Track and Field Cross Country Club Championships with the Georgetown Running Club, her race team. Roady inspired all who were fortunate enough to know her. She loved unequivocally and was utterly unselfish. She did not waste a second of her too-short life. Everything Roady did, she did intensely and completely. Roady rose at dawn to run, spent her Metro commute to work e-mailing her friends and family, excelled at work, exercised again at lunch, called her parents, Jack Woodall ’68 and Sharon Boyce, on the walk home from the Metro, and spent her evenings deep in conversation with the husband she so dearly loved, Peter Roady ’06. Roady was born in Knoxville, Tenn., on Oct. 20, 1985. Her parents, Jack and Sharon, had waited a while to have children, but Peter and all the other people whose lives she transformed are glad they got around to it. Roady gave them their money’s worth. The fire within her burned strong from her first moments. When she learned to read, very early, she read through practically the entire library. She read so much she was banned from her school library, much to her mother’s consternation. Roady would snatch the day’s reading quiz off the teacher’s desk on the way into class and would complete it before class began. She then spent the rest of the class reading whatever she wanted. By the time she was 18, Roady had read 10 times more books than most people will read in 80 years. Roady and her younger brother, Nicholas, had a happy childhood with Jack and Sharon, and under the careful eyes and exemplary role modeling of their maternal grandmother, Virginia Boyce. They spent many wonderful weekends at Cade’s Cove, one of her favorite places, and somewhere she always returned to run when she visited Knoxville. Virginia was a third parent, and her positive influence on Roady was immense. Throughout her life, Roady drew upon Virginia’s strength, resolve, and spirit. Roady loved horses from the time she was a little girl. When Roady was nine, her parents gave her the gift she always wanted: riding lessons. Riding changed Roady’d life. Pony Club taught her leadership, and she won the Pony Club’s annual award at age 11. Throughout high school and college she dedicated herself to eventing and took her horse, Will, to the highest level. Along the way, she made many lifelong friends and admirers. She first met Peter at Davidson. She was two years younger, but they had a class together and bumped into each other around campus. They did not date at the time, and lost touch until reconnecting thanks to a mutual friend in the summer of 2008, who recognized the potential for a perfect match. They began corresponding regularly and spent Labor Day weekend together in Cambridge, Mass., where Peter was attending graduate school. Although Roady had only just started New York University (NYU) Law School, and they would have to begin their relationship long distance, Peter knew almost immediately that Roady was the woman he would marry. She was the kindest, most thoughtful person he had ever met. After a conversation with her parents, he proposed to Roady in a meadow in Oregon overlooking Mount Hood in August 2010. Roady spent the fall semester at Georgetown Law School to be with Peter. At Georgetown, Roady’s professors honored her as the top student in two of her classes. Roady returned to New York in the spring and the couple endured one last semester of long-distance while she finished her degree at NYU Law in 2011. Roady moved to Washington and began building a stellar reputation as an attorney at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and to be with Peter forever. Growing up, Roady and her family traveled often to Cumberland Island, Ga., to camp and stay at the Greyfield Inn. Roady and her family knew this would be the place for an unforgettable wedding weekend with closest friends and family. Peter had never been, so she took Peter and his parents, Steve and Celia Roady, to visit the island in October 2010. All were instantly taken with this magical place. She and Peter married at Greyfield on Oct. 6, 2012, and spent a blissful weekend with their friends and family enjoying the island and each other’s company. The newlyweds honeymooned in Provence in the South of France, sharing many wonderful uninterrupted hours together. Roady made Peter feel loved and appreciated every minute of the more than four years they had together. She made him a better person. He loved her deeply. He is eternally grateful for the time they had together and the transformative impact she had on his life. She is survived by her husband, Peter Roady ’06, 2501 Porter St. NW, Apt. 407, Washington, DC 20008-1252; parents, Jack Woodall ’68 and Sharon Boyce; brother, Nicholas Woodall; uncle, David Woodall; aunt, Janet Bradshaw; cousins, Melanie Bradshaw Farrell and Stephanie Bradshaw Cummings; parents-in-law, Steve ’71 and Celia Roady; and sister-in-law, Laura Roady Capito. She will be deeply missed.