William Boyd Wood

William Boyd Wood

William Boyd Wood, 1910-1991

• Father: Walter Warren Wood b. 3 September 1886, d. 23 December 1949
• Mother: Hattie Agnes Teague b. June 1891, d. 1917

• William Boyd Wood was born on 12 May 1910 in Richards, Grimes County, Texas.
• Members of the Haynie and Wood families, and some neighbors, were photographed in front of "the Haynie hotel" in Richards, about 1911.
• An early photographic portrait was made of little Billie Wood.
• His father and mother divorced when he was a small child, and his mother remarried, then died in 1917. His father entered the Army, AEF France, left the US on 6 August 1918, and returned 5 Apr 1919.
• Some Richards school students were photographed about 1918.
• Students and teachers were photographed in front of Richards School in 1919. A bond for enlarging the school building was voted on 1 June 1918, and the photo likely celebrated its completion.
• Rush Brevard Wood and Claudia Gertrude Bay appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Richards, Grimes County, Texas. Other members of the household included William Boyd Wood, Walter Warren Wood, Solomon William Wood, Martha Clarana Reed, Henry Campbell Wood, Claude Irvin Wood and Myrtle Ernestine Bay.
• He graduated on 16 May 1928 from Richards High School in Grimes County.
• He was mentioned in the obituary of Martha Clarana Reed that appeared on 11 January 1929 in the Navasota Examiner: The "Grim Reaper" has been busy in our town, have had four deaths within ten days. On Friday afternoon at 7:30 Mrs. Solomon Wood passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ira Haynie. Mrs. Wood was making her home with Mrs. Haynie due to the fact that her grandson Billie Wood who she had raised left for college in September and it left her alone. Billie came home for the holidays and fell a victim of the flu. His grandmother stayed with him until she too was taken sick and it was more than her strength could over come. She was 75 years old in July. Everything that loved ones and physician and nurse could do was done for her but to no avail. Her suffering was intense, but she bore it as she always bore her sufferings with patience. She was a devoted mother, one who could not do too much for her children and grand children. She was a member of the Christian church uniting when a girl a firm believer in its doctrines. She was beloved by neighbors and her memory will be reverened by all. To know her was to love her. She was tenderly laid to rest in the Fairview cemetery Saturday afternoon. She leaves to mourn her loss, eight children, a host of relatives, grand children and friends. But we realize our loss is Heaven's gain. "One who loved her." Just above this entry appears: Billie Wood who has been seriously ill was carried to Houston Monday. Reports stated yesterday that pneumonia had developed.
• He was educated at North Texas Agricultural College (of the Texas A&M system), at Arlington, graduating 31 May 1930 with an Associate in Science degree.
• He was educated at the University of Texas, at Austin, at Texas graduating 29 August 1932 with a BBA degree.
• Walter Wood was photographed with his son Billie during the early 1930s at the sunken gardens in San Antonio.
• Billie Wood and Billie Marie Lawhon shared their birthday, 12 May, and were photograped in Richards with a birthday cake.
• On the same day that Billie Marie Lawhon and Billie Wood were photographed in Richards with their birthday cake, she was photographed with her mother and neighbors Mollie Whitfield Teague and her daughter Carrie Teague Garner.
• He and Doris Torbert obtained a marriage license on 7 April 1940 in the Courthouse, Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama.
• He married Doris Torbert, daughter of James Everett Torbert and Louise Beall Adams, on 28 April 1940 in Demopolis, Marengo County, Alabama.
• An informal photograph was made of Doris Torbert Wood and her daughter Judy.
• At the time of his death William Boyd Wood was living in Webster Groves, St. Louis County, Missouri, at 716 South Gore.
• William Boyd Wood died on 30 September 1991 at age 81 in Valley Park, St. Louis County, Missouri, at Cedarcroft Nursing Home.
• He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Kirkwood, St. Louis County, Missouri.
• The following appeared on 1 October 1991 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: William B. Wood, a retired Farmers Home Administration director, died Monday (Sept. 30, 1991) at the Cedarcroft Nursing Center in Valley Park after a lengthy illness. He was 81 and had lived in Webster Groves.
       Mr. Wood moved to Webster Groves in 1953 and established the National Finance Office in St. Louis of the Farmers Home Administration. He served as the director of the FmHA office until his retirement in 1973 after 38 years of service with the Department of Agriculture.
       He was a native of Richards, Texas, attended the North Texas Agricultural College, and graduated in 1932 from the University of Texas School of Business Administration.
       Since 1932, Mr. Wood had served in a number of federal government positions in Texas, Alabama, North Carolina and Washington before coming to the St. Louis area. He was honored in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his service to the Department of Agriculture. He was a member of the Federal Executive Board; the Masonic Lodge; and was active at the Webster Groves Presbyterian Church.
       A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Webster Groves Presbyterian Church, 45 West Lockwood Avenue, in Webster Groves. Burial will be private at Oak Hill Cemetery.
       Among the survivors are his wife, Doris Torbert Wood of Webster Groves; a daughter, Judy Moeller of Des Peres; a son, William B. Wood Jr. of Paw Paw, W.Va; a brother, Warren R. Wood of Anderson, Texas; and two grandchildren.
       Memorial contributions may be made to the W.B. Wood Memorial Fund for Youth Education at the Webster Groves Presbyterian Church, or to Pathways to Independence, 631 East Polo Drive, St. Louis, Mo., 63105.
• A single grave marker identifies the graves of William Boyd Wood and Doris Torbert.

• Last Edited: 27 Sep 2012

• Charts: Descendants of ABERCROMBIE Charles & Edwina Malinda "Dicey" Booth, Descendants of ADAMS Felix Grundy & Huldah Ann Shields, Descendants of LeGRAND John & Margaret Chambers, Descendants of PEGUES Claudius & Marcia Saunders, Descendants of TORBERT Anthony & Margaret Simpson, Descendants of WOOD William & Lydia Ballentine