Wanda Ross Wood

She was born on Oct. 27th, 1930, in Hollywood, Arkansas, and grew up in nearby Arkadelphia. Her father taught school in the area, then her parents had a dry cleaning store, and finally her father became an attorney, which allowed the family to lead a comfortable lifestyle. Wanda grew up in a beautiful home overlooking a wooded area and one of the two local colleges.

After high school, she literally walked across the street to attend Henderson State College, and it was there that she met and married her husband, John. While attending Henderson, they both worked at the local drive-in theater at night. She worked the ticket booth with John in the concession stand.

After graduation, they both attended the University of Arkansas. (go hogs!) John obtained his law degree and she obtained a Masters in English. They then came back to Arkadelphia, where she taught school and John practiced law with his father in law. It was during that time that their son, Phil, was born.

After three years, John found that he really did not like law that much, and Wanda was tired of the cold and dreary winters, so they packed up to follow some friends to St. Pete, Florida. However, they quickly discovered Naples on a weekend trip, and decided to settle there instead, being fond of the small town feel. It really was small in 1957, with only a few thousand people.

John went into real estate, and in 1958, they co-founded the firm that is today known as John R. Wood Properties. Over the next decade, Wanda taught elementary school at Shadowlawn, then Lake Park. She retired for a while, but then went back to work during a teacher strike, and taught for several years at Seagate Elementary before retiring again.

Wanda was active in the real estate business in the summer time, assisting with administrative duties at the office. She also became a real estate broker for the firm, to serve as a backup in case anything happened to John. She later served as a broker for over 30 years in one of the firm’s subsidiary companies.

In addition to her many homemaker duties over the years, she also volunteered in various capacities, including helping transcribe books into Braille for the blind. She became a Florida Master Gardener and volunteered at the Collier County office for several years. Her favorite volunteer pastime was working at the First United Methodist Church office, a position that she filled until her illness.

Her favorite home duty was done on one of her four John Deere tractors, which she loved. The gardens and fruit trees at home yielded vegetables, fruits, grapes, pineapples and other great food for her table.

Wanda is survived by her husband John, son Phil, granddaughters Corey and Nicki, great grandchildren Hunter and Ryli, and various cousins and other relatives in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Colorado, and Arkansas. She was a true southern lady, a great cook, a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother, and a very loving friend to many in the community.

Services will be at 4:30 pm, on Feb. 9th, 2017, at NORTH NAPLES UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 6000 Goodlette Rd. N, Naples, FL 34109.