Nelson D Wood Obituary

Nelson D Wood attended Genoa Area High School in Genoa, OH. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Nelson D Wood.

Graduation Year	Class of 1935
Date of Passing	May 19, 2011
About	Nelson Dean Wood, 93, formerly of Genoa, Ohio, died Thursday, May 19, 2011, at his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dean was born July 14, 1917, in Genoa, Ohio, to Nelson and Eva (Snyder) Wood. On February 21, 1942, in Toledo, Ohio, he married and is survived by his high school sweetheart, Phyllis M. Samsen. They recently celebrated their sixty-ninth wedding anniversary. He deeply loved his family, his community, and his country and was admired for his gentle nature. For many years Dean owned and operated the Genoa Printing Company and published the Genoa Gazette. He was a lifelong member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Genoa and a former member of the Genoa American Legion Post #324. Dean served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII and was a prisoner of war in Barth, Germany, for thirteen months. Dean was a gifted athlete. He excelled in basketball, football, track, tennis and his beloved golf, and was recently inducted into the Genoa Athletic Hall of Fame. He was salutatorian of his high school class and was respected for his intellectual capabilities. In addition to his wife, Phyllis, Dean is survived by his son, Bob Wood and his wife, Aileen, of Raleigh; daughter, Carol Sehnert and her husband, Steve, of Denver; and daughter, Ann Antoun and her husband, Afif, of Raleigh; six grandchildren: Matthew Wood, Katie Calvillo, Jeff Sehnert, Laura Sehnert, Amy Antoun and Emily Antoun; and seven great grandchildren: Ella, Summit, Maggie, Colby, Emersyn, Kelley and Dean. Dean was preceded in death by his parents Eva and Nelson, brother Herb and sisters Betty and Kathryn. The funeral service will be conducted 1:00 p.m., Sunday, May 22, 2011, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 313 Main St., Genoa, Ohio 43430, with internment to follow in Clay Township Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial contributions for Dean to the church. Robinson - Walker Funeral Home & Crematory of Genoa has assisted the family with arrangements. A man whose printing business supplied his hometown's invitations, announcements, and stationery, Dean Wood died Thursday in his North Carolina home from complications of congestive heart failure and kidney disease. He was 93. He and his wife, Phyllis, moved to Raleigh about nine years ago. Mr. Wood sold Genoa Printing Co. in 1982 and retired, his son, Bob, said. He and Jack Samsen, a brother-in-law, were World War II veterans when they bought the printing business in Genoa in the late 1940s. Mr. Samsen bowed out after several years, but Mr. Wood continued. He also was owner and printer of the weekly newspaper, the Genoa Gazette. He concentrated on production; someone else took care of reporting, editing, and ad sales. "Dad was the typical 60 to 80-hour-a-week small business operator and worked seven days a week for years," his son said. By 1960, he sold the weekly to the publisher of the Oak Harbor Exponent and concentrated on printing jobs, from the sundry markers of life events to letterhead and envelopes for businesses and sales flyers for stores, which he typeset, printed, addressed, bundled, and mailed. The late Verna Sivinski kept the books and answered the phones. His children came in Saturdays to help. He employed high school boys, and inevitably, "He took them under his wing and was a mentor," his daughter Ann said. His son said, "It was a tough business, but that was what he knew and felt comfortable with, and he knew it would always bring him a reliable income. That wouldn't be the case today." He made time to chat with people who came in "because they were people in the community," his daughter Ann said. His memory and intellect were sharp, and he "liked ordinary, everyday, down-to-earth folk," she said. "He was not the kind of person who would go out and join groups and clubs, but it wasn't because he didn't like people. He liked connecting with them on a different level." He was born Nelson Dean Wood on July 14, 1917, and grew up on a farm at State Rts. 163 and 51. He was a 1935 graduate of Genoa High School, where he played tennis, basketball, football, and golf, and was on the track and field team. He was the 1934 state pole vault champion. He also was a 2010 inductee into the Genoa athletic hall of fame. He worked in print shops before enlisting in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He was a B-24 pilot and flew missions over Italy and Germany. His plane was shot down, and he and the crew were captured by the Nazis. He was held as a prisoner of war for 13 months in Stalag Luft I at Barth, Germany. He was discharged as a first lieutenant. He didn't readily speak of his wartime service, however. "He would talk about his love of airplanes and the prison camp, but I never heard him mention the actual bombing missions or the destruction," his son said. "I'm not sure he could reconcile [that]." He bowled in leagues for many years. He concentrated on golf in retirement and was 1983 champion of Chippewa Golf Club, where he was a member. Surviving are his wife, Phyllis, his high school sweetheart whom he married Feb. 21, 1942; son, Bob Wood; daughters, Carol Sehnert and Ann Antoun; six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. There will be no visitation. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Sunday in Trinity United Methodist Church, Genoa, where he was a member. Arrangements are by the Robinson-Walker Funeral Home, Genoa. The family suggests tributes to the church.