Joseph "Hooker" Wood Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Joseph Hooker Wood was born April 13, 1948 in Los Angeles, CA, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Wood, Jr., the first of three children. He started life in Antelope Valley, CA on the family alfalfa farm where he learned to love the desert and the night sky. He completed his education at Southern Methodist University graduating with a BS in Geology in 1970. It was here that he met his wife, Ann Richardson. They married in 1971 and began a life of fun and adventure that took them around the country and the world and produced two wonderful sons, Adam and Zachary, who were an unending source of happiness and pride. As a bonus they brought him daughters-in-law, Erica and Laura, whom he loved as his own, and one of his greatest joys in life, his first grandchild, Ayla Rose, dubbed “sweet pea.” Hooker spent his entire career working in the oil field beginning as a mud engineer for Magcobar in Brewton, AL. and ending as Supply Chain Manager with Occidental Petroleum in Houston, TX. In between he managed operations in the U.S., Australia, Mexico, and Central and Western South America. He enjoyed his work, especially the opportunity it provided for travel and converting business associates into friends. He retired in 2013, built his dream home on a wooded hillside in Asheville, NC and enjoyed a busy and happy life indulging in all of his favorite pastimes: music, poker, wine, literature classes, senior softball, woodworking, his pup, Chance, the Houston Astros and travel. He was an active volunteer with the Asheville School Foundation, tutoring 4th graders at Isaac Dickson Elementary School and a committed friend to the Unitarian Universalist of the Swannanoa Valley congregation in Black Mountain. All along he did what he did best; share his enthusiasm for life with everyone he met. He died in his Asheville home on May 5, 2018. His wife, sons and granddaughter, his mother, Elizabeth, sisters Carolyn and Peggy, survive him. His “In-Law” and extended family and his many friends share their loss. He was a happy man who loved his life. Two Memorial Services will be held to celebrate his life: June 16, 2018 at 2 p.m. at the UUSV, 500 Montreat Rd., Black Mountain, NC June 23, 2018, at 2 p.m. Emerson UU Church, Houston, TX. In lieu of flowers memorials can be made in Hooker’s honor to the Asheville City Schools Foundation, Asheville City School Foundation https://www.acsf.org/joseph-hooker-wood or The Nature Conservancy, https://support.nature.org/site/Donation2?15001.donation=form1&df_id=15001&resultid=7HV

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Joseph "Hooker" Wood

April 13, 1948 - May 5, 2018