Bette Wood

January 15, 1942-May 8, 2022

Beloved Mother, Sister, Grandmother and Friend

Bette Ann M Wood, 80, died Sunday, May 8, 2022. Bette was born to Louis and Ethel Merker (Spitz), on January 15, 1942, in the Bronx, NY. She was the youngest of six children. A graduate of New York University, Bette earned a Master’s Degree at the College of New Rochelle and went on to eventually become a Special Education Teacher and Counselor, working to help special needs children downstate and upstate.

Bette grew up in the Bronx, and lived throughout New York State, with time spent during her adult years in Hartsdale, Putnam Lake, Valhalla, Fairhaven, and Fayetteville. Bette will be remembered for the difference she made in so many children’s lives, through her work at Green Chimneys, White Plains High School and BOCES, through her volunteering at Woodlands Community Temple, and in raising her two children, largely by herself.

An intensely spiritual person, Bette had a complete trust in God. She was brought up practicing Judaism, but in recent years, found her path at the Asbury United Methodist Church, where she infused her Christian studies with her Jewish faith. With a love for gardening, birds and books, Bette could often be found tending her myriad of plants both indoors and out, drawing and painting birds, or reading.

Bette is survived by her children, Allison C. de Cerreño (Oscar Cerreño) and Adam Cotumaccio (Laurie), her four grandchildren, Benjamin and Alex Cerreño, and Aaron and Amanda Cotumaccio, her sisters, Sylvia Rubin, Leona Douglas, and Linda Wolin, her husband, Russell Wood and his children, Mark (Kathy) and Alan (Tracey), and grandchildren, Heather Longo, Michael Wood, Christopher and Meghan Hopkins, and Danelle and Kevin Wood, and numerous friends from all walks of life.

There will be a service at the Edward F. Carter Funeral Home on Wednesday, 170 Kings Ferry Road, Montrose, NY 10548, on May 11, 2022 at 12:00pm. The service will also be available through the Zoom link below or at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84163223646. Burial following at Sharon Gardens Cemetery, Valhalla, NY.

Shiva will be held virtually on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 7pm, at https://www.zoom.us/j/6929590154.

Donations may be sent in memory of Bette Wood to:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a pediatric treatment and research facility, focused on children’s catastrophic diseases, particularly leukemia and other cancers

or

Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation

At the request of the family, please wear a face mask while attending the service.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.efcarter.com for Bette's family.