Elizabeth Downing Wood

Libby enjoyed a 28-year career in Journalism beginning in the late 1940s at the Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, OH. She then became the first female editor of The Grove City Record in Grove City, OH. In 1951 she married Gerald E. “Jerry” Watson of Cincinnati, OH and the couple moved to San Antonio, TX where Jerry entered the U.S. Air Force. They had four children (Jeff, Chris, Becki and Jenny) and moved the family more than 25 times during Jerry’s Air Force career. Throughout the moves, Libby always secured part-time work at the local newspaper as well as base papers.

By 1973 Jerry had left the Air Force and the family moved to Denver, CO, where Libby became a part-time reporter for The Denver Post. In 1975 she and Jerry separated, divorcing in 1976. She began full-time work at Joslins, now Dillards, as a security officer and was later promoted to a management position. She worked for the company for 10 years prior to retiring.

Libby met her second husband, A.J. “Jack” Cheney in 1975 at a Parents Without Partners event. A whirlwind romance ensued, and they were married in 1976. Libby developed a close relationship with Jack’s adult daughter Judy, as well as her children. Libby and Jack’s happiness was cut short in 1982 when Jack unexpectedly died due to complications from heart surgery.

Libby’s third marriage was to Raymond E. “Ray” Wood in 1983. Both retired, they spent the next few years enjoying vacations in Hawaii, annual travel to Sacramento, CA for the Dixieland Jazz Festival, and attending Denver Broncos games where Ray had season tickets in the south stands. They later moved to a senior apartment complex in Wheat Ridge where they enjoyed playing bingo and getting together with a host of friends. Sadly, Ray developed dementia and died in 2005.

Libby remained at the senior complex and continued to enjoy her many friendships. She continued playing bingo and working the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzles (in pen, because she never made mistakes!) Especially close to her granddaughter Guinivere Stevenson, the only family member still in Colorado, the two visited often and Guinivere began helping Libby with her financial affairs.

In October of 2018, Libby fell at her apartment and was hospitalized. When it was determined she could no longer live independently, Guinivere helped Libby transition to Northglenn Assisted Living in Thornton. She was Libby’s “rock,” managing the move, the finances, and Libby’s ongoing care. Libby fell at Northglenn on June 29 and was rushed to the hospital. On July 3 she moved to Denver Hospice where she died on July 4 with family at her side.

Libby’s survivors include a sister and brother in Columbus, OH; four children, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Survivors in Libby’s extended family include four step-children, six step-grandchildren and several step-great-grandchildren.