John Wooden - Final Years

Final Years

Wooden was in good health until the final years of his life. On April 3, 2006, he spent three days in a Los Angeles hospital receiving treatment for diverticulitis. He was hospitalized again in 2007 for bleeding in the colon, with his daughter quoted as saying her father was "doing well" upon his subsequent release. Wooden was hospitalized on March 1, 2008, after a fall in his home. He broke his left wrist and his collarbone in the fall, but remained in good condition according to his daughter and was given around-the-clock supervision. In February, 2009, he was hospitalized for four weeks with pneumonia.

On May 26, 2010, Wooden was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering from dehydration and remained hospitalized there until his death the following week. He died of natural causes on June 4, 2010, 4 months and 10 days shy of his 100th birthday. Wooden was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park following a private ceremony, and a public memorial service was held two weeks later at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.