Gene William Wood

Gene Wood; postman to 11,887 Washingtonians, Veteran of WWII, star of Veale Creek Theater, appreciator of Gevalia Coffee, Santa to children everywhere, piano tuner to the musical, husband and high school sweetheart to Patty, father to 12 (Janie, Jackie, John, Ellen, Melissa, Carolyn, Joe, Julie, Jeremy, and Jennifer), grandfather to 15 (Angela, Drew, Katrina, Scott, Ross, Jonathan, Nathaniel, Caitlin, Aaron, Joshua, Joseph, Benjamin, Caroline, and Anna), father-in-law/grandfather-in-law to the chosen ones (Michael, Stan, Suzi, John, Evelyn, Geoff, Erin, Jessica, and Suzy), great grandfather to 6 (Dylan, Drew, Ayden, Layne, Liam, and Miles), and friend to anyone who needed one, took his final bow on December 28th, 2015 at the age of 91. The heavenly gates were held open for him by his parents; Charles and Dora, siblings; Dorothy, Agnes, Lauretta, Margaret, Robert, Kathleen, James, Chick, and Wilma, sons; Jerome and Gene, and grandson; Abraham. Gene loved his family and friends, minivans, sports, theater, music, practical jokes, mystery novels, crossword puzzles, and after much lamenting, driving his beloved wife to the beauty parlor. Gene was a graduate of Washington Catholic...[more]

View Full Online Obituary and Tributes

gh School''s class of 1942, charter member of the St. Simon Men''s Choir directed by Alice Fisher, and a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus. Gene spent many happy afternoons at Ellis Park betting on the races, or sitting in "Grandpa''s Chair" watching Lifetime movies. Nothing brought Gene more joy than to hear his children sing over, and over, and over again. He lived on the motto, "The one who eats the fastest gets the most", which is ironic for a man who usually ended up with more food on his shirt than he did in his mouth. Gene defied modern trends and always carried a hankie, and turned his nose up at Kleenex. Before the auto industry created the back-up cam, Gene was convinced he had perfected the mirror alignment for any vehicle, and thus eliminated the possibility of blind spots while driving. Gene never met a stranger, or a ½ gallon of butter pecan ice cream that he didn''t like. As a postman for USPS and President of USPS Carriers Union, he never grew too close to dogs nor to UPS, but he did love delivering the mail to all his friends in Washington. Gene may have lost in an appearance on the Family Feud, but he won in the game of life. As a person, soldier, husband, father, gentlemen, and friend he shines above all, and not because he was trying to, but because that was what God put him on this earth to do. His family does not mourn a death, but celebrates a life beautifully lived in the key of Gene. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be directed towards either Gene''s beloved Veale Creek Theater, P.O. Box 561, Washington, IN 47501 or to the Washington Catholic High School Alumni Association, 315 NE 3rd Street, Washington, IN 47501 of which he was a Board Member. The wake service will be held 3:30pm, and calling from 4pm-8pm on Monday, January 4th at Ed Lee Mortuary. There will be a rosary at 7 pm by the Knights of Columbus. Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 5th at 10am at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church. Burial will follow in St. John Cemetery with full military rites. In closing, to the "damned next door neighbor", it was Gene who messed with your rain gauge.