Obituary of Irene Henrietta Wood, 85
Irene Henrietta Wood.
Oct. 27, 1939- Feb. 16, 2025
– Loving mother to daughter Suzanne Lynch and husband James of Sammamish, WA, son David Wood and wife Cyrena of Templeton, CA, and daughter Barbara Wood of Carlsbad, CA. Doting grandmother to Cameron, Sydney, and Morgan Lynch; Julia and Madison Wood; Hannah, Jaiden, and Cassie Miller. Sister to David Kidd of Drumchapel, Glasgow, Scotland; Ann Cameron and husband Brian of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. Loving Aunt to Alan, Gavin, and Richie Cameron of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.
Preceded in death by parents Clunie and Margaret Kidd and infant older brother, James as well as in-laws Tracy and Ruth Wood. The family will be holding a private celebration of life ceremony. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Our heartfelt thank you for visiting our Mom’s Legacy page and for all the support we have received. Mom lived a full and complete life, albeit the last several years she was impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. Mom was very social, absolutely loved to garden, tell stories, and connect with people. She also enjoyed reading and loved to iron clothes.
This was a big benefit to us when she visited. Born in Glasgow, Scotland she spent the first few years with her mother as her father was fighting in the war. Some of her earliest memories are from hearing sirens and going to the bomb shelters. It was a difficult childhood and one that was made better once her brother and sister were born. After finishing secondary school, our mother signed up to be a governess in the United States on a dare from a friend. She was selected and offered a position in Boston, MA. She took the leap and accepted the position, to the dismay of her parents.
Her first ever airplane flight was to the United States for this position. She was so brave and courageous in taking this life changing step. After working in Boston, she met our father, Tracy Wood. They soon married and our father accepted a job in Redwood City, CA. This job was the catalyst to move cross country where they experienced California for the very first time.
Soon the couple moved to Almaden Valley, where they had three children. Our mother stayed at home to raise us. She was a true Scot, with her bright red hair and her thick Scottish accent. She was a soccer mom and routinely volunteered to lead district activities. She may have been petite in size, but she drove a large, bright red GMC SUV back in the 1970’s.
She loved receiving the blue air mail handwritten letters from her father, as that was their main source of communication. She loved visiting Scotland and was beyond excited when her family came for visits. Unfortunately, when she was around other Scottish accents, it was hard for us to understand her. We would look confused, and she would think we were ‘daft’. She also enjoyed her Johnny Walker red scotch with 7-up.
She absolutely loved drinking tea and indulging in a digestive biscuit. When we hit middle school, she decided it was time to go back into the workforce. She took a part-time retail position selling clocks at the House of Clocks, in San Jose. She developed strong friendships with many of her co-workers that spanned decades. She moved across the mall to the Stearn’s Luggage store when the clock shop closed. She eventually was promoted to Manager of Stearn’s and thoroughly enjoyed managing people and interacting with customers.
The relationships and deep friendships she developed at the luggage store contributed so much joy in her life. She held onto those friendships even after the luggage store closed. After ending their marriage, our mother decided to take another bold step and move to the Pacific Northwest.
She purchased her own house in Redmond, WA, which was her pride and joy. She loved her backyard and spent countless hours gardening and enjoyed relaxing and reading in her garden. She loved being a grandma and spending time with her grandchildren. Whether it was babysitting in WA or visiting grandchildren in sunny CA, she found so much joy in those experiences. When mom was diagnosed with dementia, she moved to the central coast in CA and was close to David and Cyrena.
Over the years, she had countless visits from her children and grandchildren. She was provided such amazing care throughout the 8 years she spent dealing with this disease. The family would like to thank all the care professionals who have attended to our mom over the years. We are blessed that she passed at Park Place, Atascadero CA surrounded by truly amazing caregivers.
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