Mr. Jeffrey A. Woodley, an Abington native and internationally celebrated celebrity hairstylist and youth track and field star, passed away on Wednesday, December 10. He was 71 years old.

Mr. Woodley ran cross-country and track in his younger days and was a member of Abington’s 440-yard relay team that won the PIAA District 1 championship race at the 1970 Penn Relays. He also helped set a meet record in the four-lap relay at a 1971 Greater Philadelphia Track and Field Coaches Association indoor meet, his obituary said.

Mr. Woodley left Abington High School before his senior year to attend the old Wilfred Beauty Academy on Chestnut Street and was later recruited by famed stylist Walter Fontaine. He spent the next 30 years doing hair for hundreds of actors, entertainers, models, athletes, and celebrities, including Diahann Carroll, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, and Tyra Banks.

Mr. Woodley worked for Zoli Illusions in New York, Europe, Africa, and elsewhere around the world and his hairstyles appeared on record albums and at exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and elsewhere, his obituary said.

He retired in 2005 and “earned his General Educational Development diploma, attended classes at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and studied literature, Black history, and spiritual writing,” his obituary said.

“His career was distinguished by creativity, precision, and cultural influence. His creative influence helped shape the fabric of the entertainment and fashion industries,” his family said in a tribute.

A celebration of his life was held December 22.

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