Frank "Neil" Wood

Frank “Neil” Wood, 89, passed peacefully at his home into the loving arms of Jesus on March 20, 2026. He was born to the marriage of Floyd and Virgie (McIntyre) Wood on November 12, 1936, in Corinth, Mississippi. He was the middle of three sons, alongside his brothers, Doug and Preston. Neil’s childhood was filled with fun and adventure. His family moved to Dallas, Texas where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1954. He was an active member in the ROTC program while in school.

He graduated from North Texas State College in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing. He was a proud member of the Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity and loved to tell lively and comical stories of his frat days. Neil was the notorious ringleader in making the pledges take tortuous ice baths. This led to those said pledges “kidnapping” him in the middle of the night, putting him in the trunk of their car, driving him toward Lewisville and dropping him off in the middle of nowhere for him to hitch a ride back to Denton. Many other infamous stories consisted of raucous food fights with rotten produce, being forced to eat onions with snuff sprinkled on them, and being made to always have a black and white marble in one’s mouth while pledging during “hell week.”

In his late teens, Neil met his future wife, the beautiful Judy Bone. She became a PIKE Dream Girl for his fraternity. He joined a vocal group with a few other fraternity brothers, calling themselves “Bob Kelly and the Pikes” while at North Texas. They performed for dances and parties, playing mostly rhythm and blues music. The group later recorded some songs, one entitled “Git It” which was later put with others on a CD.

Neil enlisted in the Air Force Reserves in 1958 and was honorably discharged in 1961. He remained a patriot and a proud American his entire life.

Neil and Judy married on May 23, 1959, at Skillman Avenue Church of Christ in Dallas, Tx. They had four children: Shawn, Tracy, Kirk and Ty. They eventually built a house in Hurst in 1967 and remained there in the same home for the rest of their lives. Neil worked for most of his career for the Bali company selling women’s lingerie. He and Judy enjoyed an active social life and loved to go dancing, go out to eat, and play bridge with friends. She went on some of his business trips to New York City where they enjoyed Broadway shows and the Rockettes. They also shared fun vacations to Hawaii, enjoyed snow-skiing in New Mexico and Colorado, and a rafting trip on the Colorado River. They enjoyed many of these experiences with dear friends, the Kings,

the Finks and the Macks. Neil and Judy enjoyed taking their kids on fun family outings such as trips to Six Flags, camping trips, snow-skiing and to the beach in their 1974 station wagon while young Kirk and Ty were in the back making mischief to unsuspecting motorists, unbeknownst to their mom and dad. They were what one would think of as the stereotypical All-American family.

Neil was always present and active in his children’s busy lives, coaching many of their sports teams. He was a mentor to many of his children’s teammates with his encouraging words of wisdom and sincere care for them. He was the fun dad who played tag in the park with all the neighborhood kids.

A faithful member of the Hills church in North Richland Hills, Neil was a deacon in the Sermons to Go tape ministry for over 25 years. He was instrumental in making and sending out sermon tapes to all over the world, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to thousands of people.

He selflessly and lovingly took care of Judy in their home after her ALS diagnosis until she passed on Sept. 23, 2015, at the age of 76.

He remained active in his later years, playing church co-ed and men’s softball well into his 70’s, and later walking 2 miles a day in his neighborhood until his late 80’s.

In his 88th year of life, Neil’s memory started to diminish, and he couldn’t recall if he had been baptized. His dear friend and elder at the Hills, John Wallace, lovingly baptized him. It was such a sweet sight to witness.

In his latter years, Neil enjoyed watching Fox News, Dateline, and old western movies. He loved tinkering around in his garage and staying busy in his yard. He loved his family fiercely and enjoyed very much the annual Wood family reunion at Burger’s Lake. He could be a stinker by sneakily climbing up into his attic or getting on a tall ladder in his front yard with a saw in his hand, knowing full-well that this was a definite no-no that was forbidden by Shawn and his daughter-in-law, Mikalene, with whom he lived the last 8 years of his life. A true gentleman, he was tender-hearted, stubborn, loving, funny, compassionate, quick-witted and a joy to be around. He always had a smile on his face. Neil will be sorely missed by the many who loved him.

He was predeceased by his parents and brothers. He survives his children, Shawn Wood and his wife, Mikalene, Tracy Blamey (for whom he had an especially soft spot) and her husband, Bill, Kirk Wood and Ty Wood. Also left to cherish his memory are his

7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren and many other extended family members and friends.

Many thanks to 3 Oaks Hospice and his hospice aide Ify. Also, thank you to Cornerstone Caregiving and aides Venus and Meisha. You all treated him lovingly and with dignity and respect.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 18 at 1:30 pm in the chapel of Bluebonnet Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Colleyville, Texas. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at 12:30 pm. He will be entombed with Military honors in the mausoleum at Bluebonnet with his beloved wife Judy.

In lieu of flowers, if one wishes, memorials can be made to Christ Haven for Children, which is a children’s home in the DFW area (4200 Keller Haslet Rd., Keller, Tx. 76244)