Dick Wood

Dick Wood, 99, of Olathe, Kansas passed away on February 17, 2023. Dick Wood was born December 26, 1923. He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and married his best friend Bernie on September 18, 1948. They celebrated 73 wonderful years of marriage before her passing in September 2022.

Dick was an educator. He dedicated his 36-year professional career to the K.C. School district in an era when it was nationally renowned as a premier education system. With over 72,000 students there were elementary schools in every neighborhood, clustered around larger high schools. Dick served in several of the elementary schools as teacher, head teacher, and principal. He was proud to have developed a unique learning program, where an unused industrial arts room was repurposed to reward students for classroom accomplishments with time and resources where they could assemble and finish special project kits, many of which Dick had prepared at home. Students, parents, and teachers were very happy and at least one school board member wished there was a way to “clone him”. He always put serving the children as his first priority.

Prior to his career as an educator, Dick served 4 years in the Navy during WWII piloting a sea plane in the south pacific theater where he and his crew flew patrol and sea search and rescue missions.

After the Navy and with support and loving devotion from his wife Bernie, he received his Bachelors degree from NW Teachers College in Maryville and his Masters in Administration from UMKC. Dick had summers off from teaching and this provided him an opportunity for the family to build cottages on a 15 acre property at the Lake of the Ozarks. He later purchased a small farm where he raised Angus cattle and built two more family homes. Dick and Bernie retired to Bella Vista Arkansas, but he never stopped working. There were always rocks to be gathered and stone walls to build. Unquestionably, “A life well lived”.

Many years of home projects, building stone walls, even restoring military planes and vehicles at the Ozark Military Museum in Springdale, Arkansas eventually gave way to a new chapter of friends and activities at the Santa Marta community. He found a new passion for painting and soon turned his and Bernie’s two-bedroom apartment into an art studio and gallery that quickly overflowed to the homes of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Dick was an amazing Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Great Grandpa and even Great Great Grandpa. He was loved by all his family and friends. He leaves behind his children Kathy (John), Terry (John), Jeff (Lynn), Jim (Tricia) and Rick (Jane).

He also leaves behind 11 grandchildren Jay (Amy), Julie, Scott (Carolann), Andy (Cindy), Dan (Nadia), David (Christina), Jenny (Todd), Becca (Todd), Bryan (Kate), Patrick (Courtney), and Marty. He was blessed to have Great Grandchildren Ashley (Nick), Emily (Nick), Brenden, Cameron, Leo, Ella, Lilly, Abby, Austin, Liam, Amelia, Evan, Wesley, Sam, Logan, Kyle, Hudson, Parker Belote, Parker Wood, Nathaniel, and Jonas, and a Great Great Grandson Mason.

He is preceded in death by his wife Bernie, daughter-in-law Chris Wood, parents Ruth Ann and C.A. and two brothers Al and Jim Wood.

The family would like to thank the staff and medical personnel at Santa Marta for their excellent care of Dick over the last 12 years. Dick always said the staff at Santa Marta was his extended family.

Services will be held on Saturday, March 4, at Cure’ of Ars Catholic Church, 9401 Mission Road, Leawood, KS 66202. Visitation will be from 8:30 am to 9:00 am; Mass of Christian Burial will be at 9:00 am. A Committal Service will follow at 10:30 am at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to: Catholic Community Hospice, 16201 W. 95th St., Suite 220, Lenexa, KS 66219.