Gary Howard Wood

Gary Howard Wood of Troutdale, Oregon, age 74, passed away on May 28, 2019 after a six-month battle with cancer. Gary, the son of Kenneth Howard Wood and Ruby Irene Bloom, was born January 4, 1945 in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. He was the third of four children.

His funeral service will be held at the Troutdale meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in, at 1515 SW Cherry Park Road, on Monday, June 3, 2019 at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at Willamette National Cemetery in a private ceremony on June 4, 2019.

Gary spent his early years in Minnesota before moving to Oregon in 1952. He attended schools in St. Cloud and in Baker and Salem, Oregon before moving with his family to Portland in 1958, where he attended Alameda Grade school and Grant High School. In 1963, he enlisted in the Army where he served in Korea and was there at the start of the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1966. After serving his country, he worked as a machinist at Electronic Specialties until 1977, when he began working for Boeing of Portland and remained there until retiring in 2006.

In 1973, Gary married Deborah Brady. They lived first in the Gresham area where Sarah joined their family. They then moved to Sandy, Oregon in 1975, where two children, Beth and Gary, joined them. In 1979, they had a brief stay in Portland, where Michael was born, before moving to their present home in Troutdale, where the arrival of their youngest child, Josh, completed the family.

Gary loved bicycling; he rode the Seattle-to-Portland and for many years rode his bike to and from work, rain or shine. Gary was an avid organic gardener. He loved plants and in his later years grew scores of trees from seeds he harvested, planted, and nurtured. He loved the outdoors and nature, and after retiring he purchased a secluded acreage of land in southern Oregon where he loved to spend time and visited as much as possible. He enjoyed woodworking and carpentry and built two sheds. He loved camping, fishing, and hiking with his family and varmint hunting with his brother. Another love was for family history research. He and Deb made several trips throughout the country tracking down records and cemeteries and visiting extended family they discovered along the way. Some of the highlights were visiting his second great grandfather’s farm and acquiring photos from Gary’s distant cousins.

Gary joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1969. As an active member of the church, he served in many volunteer positions, including working with the Boy Scouts, serving as a nursery worker, and teaching younger children’s classes in church. For several years, he also worked in the church’s Family History Center, and for the last seven years he worked as a volunteer at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Portland Temple.

Gary was preceded in death by his sister Jayne in 1977; his father, Kenneth, and grandson David Matthew in 1995; and his mother, Ruby, in 2007. He is survived by his wife, Deb; two daughters: Sarah VonNiederhausern (David), and Beth; three sons: Gary, Michael (Bonnie), and Josh (Katie); one brother, Grant (Nancy); one sister, Karen Danek (Richard); and 10 grandchildren: Maren Hansen, Hayley, Emily, and Brooklyn VonNiederhausern, and Shadrach, Cassie, Eleanor, Rosalind, Caroline, and Ruby Wood.