Gary was born when I was 16 and we shared a bedroom. He had colic so I would take him to bed with me and put him on my chest and rub his back till he fell asleep. I fell in love with him right away. He was such a special child and adult, unique in every way. I will miss him so much as I know you Peggy, Billy and Brian will.

To Gary's loved ones.
The older family will remember his sister in laws Wanda family of Native Indigenous Oneida from NY State. I'am honored to also be counted as a friend of Gary and his loving siblings, family.  The talent of mental strength by skill his father instilled upon his children is founded in bed rock, veins flowing with melted steel, vision that anything another has done I can and beyond, adventure description in dictionary shows Gary's family picture.  Friendship is one of the Creators blessings meant for  humanity and I was honored to be one.  Now his name and memory will live on through earths history all of those blessings in having known this mans mans in sharing enjoying mentions of those adventures.  The Creators greatest gifts are two fold and Creator willing Gary's next hearing will be the voice of the Son of the Creator calling with a loud shout arise from the temporal resting place and join Jesus family in the Sky for an eternity of adventure which ones heart can not imagine, graduating from a small plane onto traveling from planet to planets billions upon billions to explore at his disposal and the second is Gary's gene pool is now embedded in history for eternity of earth within his loving sons to carry on generation after generation following in those big foot prints left in the sand by father. The precious stories now shared in friendship, as I will never forget our wonderful Ski trips out west.  Gary lives on in all his loved ones hearts.  I send my families condolences to each of you and in faith I try to smile away my tears of sadness for tears in faith, I may see Gary again for an eternity.

Wife, sons, Chuck, David and sisters I send my love and affections with hugs for each of you and I pray I may be fortunate to possibly see you again, through faith!  A friend Barry Halbritter bhalbrit@twcny.rr.com

The aviation community has lost a great man.  Prayers sent to lift the family and friends up.  Gary was my favorite flight instructor as he was always happy and helped me through the difficult stuff.  He was always willing to help.

I am so shocked and saddened to hear about Woody.  He was a friend of our family, and I have a lot of fun memories of this really great guy, mostly during academy days--listening to him playing his drums in the basement of his mom's house, going up for night rides in his little plane out of the Laurel field, etc.  I had searched for him on FB over the last few years, hoping to catch up.  While it is wonderful to see the pictures of Gary here, and to see him "grow up" in them, I am so sorry for the reason.  To his family: heartfelt sympathy from an old friend.

Gary - Thank you so much for being a kind and true friend, for being a teacher and mentor, for your hilarious stories, and for always working so diligently to keep us safe in the skies. You truly were a part of our family. Dear friend, you will be missed much more than you can imagine. Peggy, Brian and Billy - we wish our greatest condolences and will always keep you in our prayers. With all our love ~

Peggy, I am so sorry for your loss. Gary is one of coolest guys I have ever known. I enjoyed flying with him on many occasions, some around Hagerstown and some here in Nashville. He was always on the go doing something. That old Datsun pickup truck he had up in Maryland always had parts of airplanes or dirt bikes or scuba gear or old muddy coveralls from going spelunking piled into it. His passion of flying was undeniable. Some of us dream of flying, he pursued it. I remember when he wanted to learn to fly radio control airplanes, he took his lawnmower over to the open field at Langford farms, before it was developed along Saundersville Road and cut a small strip to land the plane on. He would hand launch the plane, I would fly it to where he would take the controls and would talk him through controlling it till it was low on gas and then take the controls and land it in the small strip he had cut. It didn't take him long to learn how to do it all himself. I bet Gary never had a bucket list, he probably didn't understand the concept. If he did, it would have been a very small bucket. In my opinion, Gary "out-lived" all of us. Be strong and know that Gary has a new set of wings and a new logbook endorsed by the greatest Examiner there is.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.  We were so sorry to hear about Gary.  He was a good man.  May the Lord lift you up in this time of sorrow.  Scott and Amanda Rogers, Atlanta, Georgia

Billy, so sorry to hear of the sudden passing of your Father. Our thoughts are with you and your family during these difficult times.

On behalf of Kennametal Inc. R D & E
David J Wills (Nashville, TN)

I was sorry to hear about Gary.  I graduated with him from TA.  My heart and prayers are with your family.

Gary & I went to Beltsville SDA school together..  Grades 1 thru 8.  I remember hot wiring his mother's car with him
I kinda lost track of him until now,  and I am so sorry for your loss.

So Sorry for your loss. Gary was a classmate of ours at TA. I know you will miss him.  God can help you through this.

Woody and I were school chums back in the day.   Picture two kids hot wiring Gary's mom's car! 
I'd kinda lost track of him over the years. 
Peggy &  kids..  I am so sorry for your loss.

Gary (Woody) was my friend back in the 60's.. Grade School &  middle school.   I remember how we used to hot wire his mom's car.. 

I kinda drifted away from those friends..  And am so sorry to hear of Gary's death.

Saddened to hear of the sudden and early passing of Gary.  He was a fine young man when I knew him.  My sympathies to his wife and sons, and David, and the rest of the family.  I particularly remember his taking me up in his little plane in MD and how exciting it was to look down on Riggs Road and Lackawanna.  It looked so different from up above.  I was fearful he would do some stunt with the plane, suggested by my kids, to scare me but he was the perfect gentleman!  Thankfully!  Donna Weigle

Peggy, So sorry to hear Gary's passing. I really enjoyed working with him at Fairchild and remember the early days when the two of you met. He was one of the best. He had a passion for flying and I had the privilege of flying with him during those days. It's great to know he passed his passion on to his sons. My prayers are there for you and the family. May God bless you all.

My deepest condolences go out to the entire Wood family.  Gary was my closest friend in junior high and high school in Maryland.  We had limited contact after he moved to Tennessee, but I was fortunate enough to have a lengthy conversation with him just a few months ago.  It was obvious that he continued to retain that zest for life and adventure that I always envied.  In addition to all the great times we shared growing up together, I'll always remember how in tune Woody was with all things mechanical. Whether diagnosing a problem under the hood or navigating behind the wheel or handlebars, he was a natural.  We both loved riding dirt bikes as teenagers.  I was in pretty good shape back then, but I can remember struggling to keep up with this skinny 15 year old whose style could only be described from behind as fluid and effortless.  He appeared to be one with any machine he was piloting, be it an enduro bike, his dad's Corvette, or his mom's Cadillac.  I was not at all surprised when I heard he had graduated to piloting jets.

To Peggy, Billy and Brian, please know that despite Gary's love for life and adventure and for a chosen vocation that often kept him away from home, the love he had for his family was always apparent to me.  In our last conversation, I would inquire about all the exotic destinations he had recently visited, and he would change the subject to the obvious pride he had in his boys and what they were doing and if I knew of any job opportunities in the engineering field.  I can only imagine how difficult it must be to cope with this loss.  Please don't hesitate to lean on friends and family for support.  I hope that someday I have the privilege of meeting the two young men whose father was so dear to me.

Peggy, 
I never met Gary, but if he was such a treasured part of your life, I am sure he was quite a wonderful person, husband, and father.  My heart and prayers go out to you in this difficult time.  May God bless you and the boys.

"Peggy, Billy and Brian we are very sorry for your loss. Gary was well where do I start? He loved you all very much and we always enjoyed being around him. We have great memories of Nashville and you guys were a big part of that, he will be missed. 

Tim and Carolyn Buchanan (Benton, Arkansas)

Peggy- We considered Gary a part of our family. We loved him. He always spoke of you and the boys with deep honor and tremendous love. His greatest wish was more time with you all. What a blessing that Gary got to live such an adventuresome life and enjoy so many friends and places.  Gary shared with us about his faith when we saw him this spring. Praise The Lord for his life and legacy. You have our deepest sympathies.

Ms Peggy, so sorry for you and your families loss. May God keep you all in the palm of his hand during this time of grief. Know that he is there to take care of you. Always in our prayers.
Helen Milliken

Peggy, Hearing of garys death has me in complete and utter shock. God must have a plan for him because he passed on to heaven way to soon. I well remember all the fun we had in Maryland running around hagerstown and frederick with Dean Mayhart and his nutty freinds. And all of the evenings we spent water skiing and drinking beer in the evening hours at shutes branch. Gary really enjoyed sking the water near evening when all was clear and smooth . I remember the time he met you at Fairchild. Gary and I were great pals.  Gary would ask me to call him over whenever thier was a problem in your assemlby area so he can have an opportunity to meet you. Yes Gary was quite smitten with you! I could go on and on with the memories. Just to let you know that me and Debi are with you, Billy and Brian in this hard time. If you need anything please do not hesitate to call.

OBITUARY

William Gary Wood

December 20, 1955 – July 10, 2014

Hermitage Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens

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