Joseph C. Wood, 77
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Joseph Clayton Wood, 77, of Nyssa, Oregon, died Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010, at the Boise (Idaho) Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Born in North Adams on Sept. 20, 1933, a son of Joseph Wood and of Mamie Coulter, he attended Drury High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball. He graduated with the class of 1951.
A Navy veteran, he enlisted in August 1951 and served until July 1954 as a photographer's mate.
Mr. Wood was employed by the former Sprague Electric Co. and the Army Corps of Engineers. He later worked for the former Massachusetts Electric Co. as an electrician and lineman.
He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and was former master of the Balance Rock Lodge of Masons in Stamford, Vt. He was a communicant and junior warden at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Nyssa. He also was an active member of the American Legion Post in Nyssa, the Adrian Lions Club, as well as the Nyssa Senior Citizen's Center
He spent much of his time traveling New England and beyond. After his journeys to Florida, Alaska and exploring the West, he settled in Oregon. His lifelong interests included photography, hunting, traveling and fishing, most recently on the Snake River. He enjoyed the companionship of his pug, Dynamite.
His wife, the former Shirley Ann Gallup, whom he married in April 1954, predeceased him.
He leaves three sons, David T. Wood of North Adams, Scott A. Wood and his wife, Amy, of Clarksburg, and Christopher J. Wood and his wife, Maryann, of Cashmere, Wash.; grandchildren Jennifer Civello, Jolene, Bryant, Tanner and Brad Wood and Kayla Brown-Wood, and great-granddaughters Jayna and Alyson Civello.
His daughter, Corinne Lynn Rancourt, died in 2001.
FUNERAL NOTICE - A memorial service and celebration of life will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church, Summer Street, North Adams. Private burial will take place at the convenience of the family.
Memorial donations may be made to the Drury High School Class of 1951 in care of Paul Gigliotti.