Pauline Wood
March 28, 1927 - January 10, 2014

Born on March 28, 1927, in Paso Robles, California to Albert & Minnie Wilson, Pauline Wilson Wood passed from this life on January 10, 2014, in Bakersfield, California, after a valiant battle with Alzheimer's.

The seventh of nine children, she was raised in rural Oklahoma. Shaped by the Great Depression and absence of her mother, who fell ill when Pauline was a small child, she endured; developing a fearsome will and determination to build a better life. School was her refuge, and her years at Yeager High School (class of 1947) molded the rest of her life. A local basketball legend, she was scouted by colleges, and was recruited by the women's professional team, the All-American Redheads. In a time when a girl needed parental approval to pursue opportunity, she remained at home. It was at Yeager High School that she met Eugene (Cully) Wood, who she married on February 24, 1948. In marrying Eugene she acquired a whole new family, one that she loved as her own. His mother, Pearl, held a special place in her heart, and she often said her mother-in-law taught her what her own mother could not.

She is survived by two children, Keitha Wood Turner, and Terry (Susan) Wood; a daughter-in-law, Lisa Lippincott; seven grandchildren: Trica Lazenby (Scott), Rhonda Gropp (Stephen), Chad, Whitney, Kristin, Victoria, and Camille Wood. Her great grandchildren are Abigail, Mitchell, and Lilly Gropp, and Marley, William, and Eli Wood. She is also survived by nieces and nephews from both sides of her family, two of whom were witnesses to her marriage to Eugene, Carolyn June Wood Peterson and Phillip Wood. In 1981 she lost her beloved Eugene, and in 2000 her precious son, Clark. From 1992, until his passing in 2004, she was blessed with a great friend and companion in Norman Stacy Moss. She was the thirtieth and last surviving member of her generation, outliving her siblings and in-laws.

Pauline enjoyed beauty, and she found it in many things. She was gifted with numerous talents and we will enjoy many of the things she created and collected for generations to come. She is home at last with her Lord.

Memorial services were held at Westside Church of Christ in Bakersfield, California on Saturday, January 18, 2014. Graveside services will be held and Pauline will be laid to rest next to Eugene in the Holdenville Cemetery, Holdenville, Oklahoma, on Saturday, January 25, 2014, at 2:00 p.m.