Bob was born March 2, 1929 in Allentown, PA, the youngest of three sons by 20 years. His Father passed away when Bob was 12 years old. His Mother, Ola Wayne Wood raised him as an only child.
After high school graduation in May 1945, he joined the Army and was assigned to Japan as a Military Police for 18 months. He picked up many Japanese phrases that he used throughout his life.
He graduated in 1951 from Lafayette College in Easton, PA while on the G.I. Bill. Bob joined Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, and met many lifelong friends. He and his Alumni friends attended Lafayette football games over the years.
Bob met his lifelong sweetheart, Nancy, on the beach in Ocean City, NJ during a college break. They married in February 1952 in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
He had a long and successful career with Aetna Life Insurance Co., retiring as a VP/General Manager, in the Hartford Corporate Headquarters. His earlier career took him to NYC, Lynchburg and Richmond VA, Philadelphia, PA and finally to the Hartford home office, settling in Lyme, CT in 1985. He and Nancy remained close friends with college and early career friends, while adding new friends everywhere they moved.
After retirement, Bob became active on several national and local volunteer boards (National Leukemia Society and Chairman of the Lyme Art Academy) as well as an active member of the Old Lyme Beach Club and The Old Lyme Congregational Church. He also enjoyed annual camping and canoeing trips with friends, including Maine, the Swiss Alps and Montana.
Bob and Nancy wintered in Tortola, BVI and Vail, Colorado. They traveled extensively to many countries including China, Greece, Russia, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and all across Europe. They also enjoyed the annual tradition of attending the NCAA College Lacrosse Finals for over 30 straight years.
Bob was a devoted runner from the late 1960s until he was diagnosed with an early case of Lyme Disease. He spent the next 25 years as a walker where he seemed to have a nickname for everyone he met along his daily route.
Bob is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Susan Wood Henderson and Daniel Gregory Henderson of Lyme, CT; son Charles Stuart Wood and daughter-in-law Kathleen Tyler Wood of Kildeer, IL; son Andrew Robert Wood of Devon, PA; six grandchildren Katherine Henderson Hirt and husband Joshua Matthew Hirt, Elizabeth Henderson Hickey and husband Keith Lewis Hickey, Daniel Gregory Henderson Jr, Emily Lura Wood and fiancé Clark Joseph Lensing, Melanie Margaret Wood, and Charles Tyler Wood; and two great grandchildren Olivia Haines Hickey and Henley Elizabeth Hirt.
A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 11:00am, in The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme.
Fulton-Theroux Funeral Home, Old Lyme, is handling the arrangements. Please visit www.fulton-therouxoldlyme.com for further information.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to;
Middlesex Hospital Homecare and Hospice, 28 Crescent St., Middlesex, CT 06457
or, The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, 84 Lyme St., Old Lyme, CT 06371
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.8.18