Joe Wood

Joe Frank Wood, 95, passed away January 28, 2011, at his home in Cheyenne. The son of William Everett Wood and Myrtle Evelyn Treadwell Wood, he was born May 25, 1915 in Baird, TX. The family moved to Cheyenne in 1921 and soon after to Rock Springs, WY where he grew up and graduated from Rock Springs High School. He studied at the University of Utah, worked in a coal mine in Rock Springs, and moved back to Cheyenne with his parents in about 1937. He began a 37 year career with Greyhound Bus Lines in 1939, starting as a ticket agent in Cheyenne and retiring as the District Superintendent in Denver in 1976. He was a 33rd Degree Mason in the Masonic Lodge and a member of several Masonic bodies including: Past Master of Acacia Lodge No. 11, A. F. & A. M.; Wyoming Consistory No. 1, A.A.S.R.; Korein Temple of the Shrine; Royal Order of Scotland; and Order of Eastern Star, Past Patron of Mizpah Chapter No. 36. He met the love of his life, Gema Bergamo, in high school and they were married in Cheyenne in 1940 and celebrated their 70th Anniversary last May. Mr. Wood is survived by his wife, Gema Wood of Cheyenne; his son, James Wood and wife, Sharon, of Lompoc, CA; son-in-law, Douglas Atkins of Las Vegas, NV; granddaughter, Jennifer Kyle and great –granddaughter, Lacy Dalton; step-granddaughters, Pamela Forrester, Paula Hardee, and Polly Forsythe; 13 step-great grandchildren and great- great grandchildren; sister, Nona Furch of Colorado Springs, CO; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Judith Wood Atkins; grandson, Jeffrey Atkins; and brother, William E. Wood, Jr. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, February 1, 2011, from 6-8 p.m. at the Schrader Funeral Home. A funeral service with a committal service to follow will be conducted on Wednesday, February 2nd at 2:00 p.m. at the Schrader Chapel with The Reverend David Stratton officiating. Interment will take place in Lakeview Cemetery. Those who wish may make a commemorative gift in memory of Joe Frank Wood to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, using a downloadable form from their website at the following URL: http://support.shrinershospitals.org/site/DocServer/Internet_form_1108.pdf?docID=481