Gary Eugene Wood passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of June 9, 2022, at the age of 78. Gary’s life was well lived in every way. Gary was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and a proud Texan. He was a man of immense intellect and amazing wit who brought joy to all who knew him.
Gary was born on December 9, 1943, in Houston, Texas to Eugene Wendell Wood and Myrtle Augusta Yarborough Wood. After the end of World War II, the family moved to Rule, Texas, hometown of Gene and Myrtle, where Gary started grade school and spent a happy childhood. He worked at his father’s grocery store on Saturdays, spent hours listening to baseball games on the radio, and participated in sports and Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in 1960.
In 1958, Gary’s family moved to Munday, Texas. He graduated from Munday High School in 1962. According to his yearbook, he was “a swell guy with a wonderful smile and loads of fun.” Many predicted he would go far in the future, others hoped it would be soon. One wrote,“ I realize that I’m expected to say something nice, but I’m at a loss for words.” Another remarked that he had a brilliant mind but needed to lose the dirty side of it. Players and coaches alike encouraged Gary to put more effort into football, a sport that he disliked playing. After a football injury, Gary joined the band where he was recognized as the band director’s favorite bass drum player. He was the only one!
Gary headed from Munday to Lubbock, Texas to attend Texas Tech University. A couple of years later, he enrolled at Baylor University in Waco, Texas where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.B.A. in Economics/Finance. Gary then moved to the University of Florida where he received an M.A. in Economics in 1967. He later continued his education at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a Ph.D. in Banking/Finance in 1977, and at the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU.
During the Vietnam era, Gary began receiving letters in red ink from the Draft Board, which prompted him to quickly enlist in the United States Air Force. He was a Distinguished Graduate of Officer Training School and was deployed to Minot Air Force Base in Minot, North Dakota. Gary boasted that, while there, not a single enemy crossed the Canadian border. After his stint in the Air Force, Gary went to work for the Central Intelligence Agency (1970-1971). He returned to Texas in 1971 to work at Southwest National Bank in El Paso. After this, Gary joined the faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio; he was a professor of finance. Then Gary joined the faculty at Baylor where he was also a professor of finance. In 1980, Gary took a leave of absence from his duties at Baylor to serve on the staff of Texas Senator John Tower in Washington, D.C. While working for Senator Tower, Gary was appointed the Chief Economist of the Republican Policy Committee for the United States Senate.
Following his time in Washington, Gary returned to Baylor where he was a finance professor and the Director of Governmental Relations for the University. In 1988, he was lured away from Baylor to be President of the Texas Research League, a non-profit, educational organization engaged in non-partisan analysis of the operations, programs, and challenges of Texas state government. In 1997, Gary’s career took a different turn when he joined Collins Financial Services as the company’s President. He remained at Collins Financial until his retirement in 2009.
In addition to Gary’s distinguished career in education, government, and business, he was a part of numerous quasi-governmental, civic, and charitable organizations, including director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Texas Business and Education Coalition, the Texas Council on Economic Education, and the Texas Lyceum Association, in addition to many others. Gary was proudly appointed by President Ronald Reagan as a Trustee of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
After his retirement from Collins Financial, Gary and his wife, Patte, a former high school classmate, set out to see the world. Together they visited six continents and toured over 40 countries. Gary also set a goal of becoming an accomplished golfer, playing as often as he could at Austin Golf Club with a group of friends that came to be called the “Balls in the Air” group. Gary never quite achieved his goal of becoming an outstanding golfer, but he never failed to keep his golfing companions entertained with his good-natured ribbing and witty comments. His quick intellect, which he clearly showed throughout his life professionally, was often displayed on the links as well with his remarkable ability to capture the essence of his golfing friends with clever nicknames he created for many of them. Gary never failed to find a way to make them laugh.
In addition to his intellectual gifts and professional accomplishments, Gary was as often as possible silly, zany, and sarcastic. He loved to poke fun, and he loved even more his many opportunities to bring happiness to his family and friends. Gary was fond of adopting crazy characters, including Silver Cat and the Sweet Prince on the golf course, and Carnac the Magnificent at Christmas parties. He was a founder and proud member of Pachyderms on Parade for which he invented preposterous song and dance routines. In short, Gary was witty, generous, funny, and a free spirit who thrived in the company of others and brought joy to those he loved.
Gary is survived by his loving family, his wife Patte Patterson Wood; daughter Wendy Wood and her husband David Ruiz; stepdaughter Jerre Danley and her husband Todd; and stepson Jason Lynch and his family Maude and Atticus; and sister Gail Howerton and her husband Robert. Also, granddaughters Allison Danley and Hayley Danley; nieces Stephanie Potts Hansen, Mandy Matthews, and their families.
A service celebrating Gary’s life will be held at Weed-Corley-Fish Lake Travis, 411 Ranch Road 620 S., Lakeway, Texas at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2022.
As Gary was a supporter of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, donation in his memory to that organization would be appreciated.
