Woodmen of the World

WOODMEN OF THE WORLD -  Woodmen Life (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a fraternal benefit society based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members.

The history of this organization includes the erection of numerous distinctive tombstones depicting tree stumps across the country before 1930, a program to donate American flags, and broadcast interests that were to own the first television station where Johnny Carson worked.  At one time in its history , WOW did offer grave monuments to families of deceased members.  Sometimes these monuments have the motto Dum Tacet Clamat, which means "Though silent, he speaks , " etched on the stone.

The organization was founded in 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Joseph Cullen Root.  Root, who was a member of several fraternal organizations including the Freemasons, had founded Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) in Lyons, Iowa, in 1883, after hearing a sermon about "pioneer woodsmen clearing away the forest to provide for their families".  Taking his own surname to heart, he wanted to start a society that "would clear away problems of financial security for its members".   After internal dissension within the MWA, Root was ejected from the organization that he had founded.  When moving to Omaha, Root decided to start again with a new group he called the Modern Woodmen of the World.  He soon dropped the "Modern", and the organization became "Woodmen of the World".

The Woodmen of the World began marketing itself under Woodmen Life name on June 1, 2015.