John William Wood

John William Wood, of Dripping Springs, Texas, was born in Hazlehurst, on April 2. 1929 and died in Austin, Texas on February 13, 2015.  His parents were Katherine Slane Wood and Claude Sandifer Wood.

He graduated from Hazlehurst High School in 1947, and received a degree in geology from Mississippi State College in 1954.  He completed a degree in geology from Texas Technological College in 1956, and a PhD, also in geology, from the University of Texas at Austin in 1965.  
John served his country during the Korean Conflict with the 40th Infantry Division in Japan and Korea from 1951 to 1953.

He married Nancy Amelia Smith on June 6, 1953 at the Pleasant Valley Methodist Church in Allen, Mississippi.

John was an Instructor in the Department of Geology at Texas Tech from 1955 to 1959.  After completion of his degree from the University of Texas, he worked as a geologist with Texaco, Inc., spending most of his career as a carbonate research geologist in Texaco’s central research department for petroleum exploration and production technology in Houston, Texas.
His retirement years were spent at Dripping Springs, in the beautiful Texas hill country.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Katherine Slane Wood and Claude Sandifer Wood; his son, John (Johnny) William Wood, Jr.; his sisters, Evelyn Wood Collins, Jean Wood Bills, Dorothy Wood Thaxton, and Katherine Delphina Wood; his brothers, Claude Sandifer Wood Jr., Joe Allen Wood, Elbert Homer Wood, and Robert James Wood. 

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Amelia Smith Wood; their  daughters, Nancy (Nan) Wood Hanus and her Husband, Matthew C Lewis;  Amy Rebecca Wood and her husband, Todd W Shaw; grandchildren Joseph Jeremiah Hanus and his wife Jessica, Violet May Hanus, and Ian Wood Shaw; and great-grandchildren, Elijah Forrest Hanus and Valentine Rose Morgia.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held on March 7th at 10:30 am in Remembrance  Gardens at River Bend, 4214 N. Capital of Texas Highway, Austin, Texas.

John’s family request that any contributions honoring his memory be made to:
The Jackson School of Geosciences
Attn: Georgia Sanders (John W. Wood Memorial)
2305 Speedway, C1160
Austin, Texas  78712