Mary Beard Wood

As a child, Mary spent many summers in northern Minnesota, canoeing and camping on the border lakes. She graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in History and then worked at the United Nations in New York City. While there, she met and married Bob.

After spending a year in London and returning to the United States, she became a mother to Linda, followed 3 years later by Bob, Tim and Doug. Once all were in school, she began working (volunteering) at the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of History and Technology, taking great pride in demonstrating the machine shop tools and many other historical items, for 49 years.

Mary also became involved in Girl Scouts. As a troop leader she influenced many girls as they grew to independence. She remained active for over 30 years in various positions including Assistant Council Director and Summer Day Camp director.

One of the many constants of Mary’s life was singing. In London, she sang with the Royal Choral Society under Sir Malcolm Sargent and while in the Washington, D.C. area, she sang with the Cathedral Choral Society, and several church choirs. An advantage of singing was the opportunity to travel the globe with various choirs. She sang in Prague, Paris and Berlin, to mention a few.

Travel was another great love of Mary’s. She visited China with her mother and with Bob, travelled to St Petersburg, Vienna and Egypt. They sailed through the fjords of Finland, around Cape Horn to Chile, around the islands of Greece, and around the Black Sea. They also cruised down the Rhone, Rhine and Danube rivers.

Mary’s other interests were teaching swimming, knitting and crocheting, and painting and drawing.

Mary is preceded in death by her husband Bob and her infant son, Timothy. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Karl Kindt of Grand Prairie, TX; her son and daughter-in-law Bob and Toni Wood of Glenwood, MD; her son Doug Wood of Pleasant Hill, CA; and her grandchildren, Kristopher and Kody Kindt, and Tyler (wife Caragh) and Alexandra Wood.

Services will be held at Neelsville Presbyterian Church, 20701 Frederick Road, Germantown, MD 20876 on February 22, 2020 at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the National Museum of American History.

Donations can be made in her name to amhistory.si.edu/donate