On Monday May 27th, 2019, Julie Marie Wood of Cary, North Carolina, loving wife and mother of two children, passed away at the age of 71. She is reunited with her husband of 49 years, William "Bill" Edward Wood, who passed in February, and her parents Paul and Gertrude Thackara.
Julie was born on March 25th, 1948 at a military hospital in Fukuoka, Japan. She arrived three months premature, weighing only 3 pounds and was in an incubator for quite some time. Growing up, her Air Force family moved roughly every 2 years from Japan to Alabama to Florida to Georgia to Montana to Rome, Italy to Virginia to Oklahoma to Colorado to New York finally settling in San Antonio.
She received her undergraduate degree and masters degree in education from Southwest Texas University in San Marcos, TX. She married William (Bill) Edward Wood on March 24, 1970 and settled in Wappingers Falls, NY. They raised two children, Kristi and Scott.
Julie was a lifelong teacher who took time out of her career to stay home and raise her small children. She was known as someone who devoted her life to children: her own kids, her grandchildren, and the hundreds of kids she taught and positively impacted throughout her lifetime. After retirement, she became a full-time grandmother known as "Meme" and spent much of her time doting on her grandchildren.
She was intelligent, loving, bright, easy-going and always fun. Julie greatly valued her time with her grandkids, family and friends. She demonstrated the importance of family and friendships by maintaining relationships formed throughout her many moves and with her siblings who lived across the country. Known for her small gifts of kindness at any and all occasions, Julie's sweet, gentle spirit will be greatly missed.
Julie is survived by her daughter Kristi and her husband Ken, her son Scott and his wife Lissy, and her grandchildren Davis, Emerson, Carly and Graham. She is also survived by her siblings and their spouses: Bonnie and Frank Garcia, Chris Scripture and Bill Wallace, Mary Ann "Mun" and Jim Ayres and Paul and Coy Thackara.
A memorial service will be held at Brown Wynne in Cary on Sunday June 2nd at 1pm.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association.
