James Edwin Wood

James Edwin Wood of Stafford, Virginia (formerly of Middletown, DE and Dunnellon, FL) passed from this life on January 4th, 2019. He was born on January 24th, 1929 in Wilmington, DE. He was the second of five children born to James Emory Wood and Nellie (Hitchens) Wood of Galena, MD. He is survived by a step-son William E. Emerson III and his wife Julie (Grauslys) Emerson of Stafford. He is also survived by four grandchildren, William E. Emerson IV and his wife Laura (Hogan) Emerson of Stafford, Kristina M. (Emerson) Day and her husband Ben Day of Lexington, VA, Joanna P. Emerson of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Diana M. (Emerson) Jerman and her husband Bobby W. Jerman of Fredericksburg, Virginia, as well as four great-grandchildren, Angelina Grace Emerson and Alexandra Keira Emerson of Stafford, Christian Coleman Day of Lexington, VA, and Bobby Wayne Jerman II of Fredericksburg, VA. He is also survived by his sister Nancy (Wood) Marsh of Dunnellon, FL, his half-sister June (Wood) Zappa of Wilmington, DE, his half-brother Thomas R. Wood of Galena, MD and several nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Elsie M. (Coleman) Wood, a sister Betty (Wood) Wilkie, and his brothers Thomas B. Wood and George Wood, a half-brother William R. Wood, and a step-son Robert A. Francois Jr. James left Galena High School early to join the U.S. Navy where he served from 1946 to 1953. While in the Navy he served on the USS Washington (BB-56), USS Mt Olympus (AGC-8), USS Canisteo (AO-99), and the USS Noxubee (AOG-56). He was on the Flagship USS Mt. Olympus for Operation Highjump, the Antarctic expedition with Admiral Byrd. In 1989 he retired from DelMarVa Power & Light and he and his wife Elsie moved to Florida where they were active members of the American Legion Post in Dunnellon. In 2010 they moved to Virginia to be closer to family. James enjoyed spending time with his family, fixing things around the house, and telling everyone about his experiences in the Navy. James will be buried at Quantico National Cemetery with his wife. His family will always carry loving memories of him in our hearts. The family has designated the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (http://www.nmcrs.org/) for memorial contributions.