John Howard Wood

John Howard Wood, Fullerton, CA passed away on 12/28/2024 at 87. John was born in Seattle, WA and enrolled at Pomona College as a math major. He was an active member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity and participated in the ROTC program. Upon graduation in 1959, he joined the Army and was sent to Kaiserslautern, Germany. There he met his beautiful wife Siegrun in 1961. Following his service in Germany, he was stationed in San Francisco and Korea. After his seven-year military career, he joined the Hughes Aircraft Company in Fullerton, CA as a systems engineer. He worked at Hughes for 26 years. Then it was time to follow his dream of designing and building vacation homes in Mammoth Lakes, CA. He left his own architectural mark on four attractive houses. Later he embarked on giving back to the community by substitute teaching at local high schools. He particularly loved teaching science and calculus. He was well-loved by his fellow teachers and students.

John and Siegrun were passionate hikers throughout his life. They hiked many mountains including Mt. Whitney, a 7-day trek in the Alps, a 10-day trek in Nepal, and a one-day ladder hike along the Mosel River in Germany. In Mammoth, John also enjoyed trout fishing with his fishing buddies. Other athletic endeavors that John and Siegrun enjoyed were weekend runs of 5K, 10K, and half-marathons. At one race, John and Siegrun were the winning couple.

John was an amazing father to three children, David, Tom, and Bettina. He supported David in his military pursuits and flying career, which started when John surprised David with his first radio controlled model airplane. John and Tom were passionate car lovers and could be found either at car shows or repairing cars in the garage. He was devoted to his daughter and taught her to always do her best from mathematics to athletic pursuits and was particularly invested in her school science projects. John was a fearless Boy Scout leader for his two sons during the ‘70s. Using his design and building skills, he also helped his grandson Christiaan with his Eagle Scout project. He is survived by his loving wife Siegrun of 61 years, his son David and wife Kay, his son Tom, his daughter Bettina and husband Arnout, and his three beloved grandchildren, Christiaan, Clara, and Johannes.

He believed in family and hard work and passed these values onto his children and grandchildren. He had a very strong moral compass and was a constant source of positivity, encouragement, and happiness. He will be greatly missed.

Please contact his daughter, Bettina, at [email protected] for funeral details.