John Edgar Wood, Jr., 81, passed away on February 9, 2024 at his home in Hudson, FL, where he lived with his wife of 49 years, Dianne Christine (Bouley) Wood.

Born in Greenfield, MA, on March 11, 1942, John was the son of John E. Wood and Wanda (Prusick) Wood. He spent his young summers at his grandparents’ dairy farm in Woodsville, NH, a bucolic setting which he recalled with great fondness. John graduated from Greenfield High School in 1960, where his athletic skill – and height of 6’5” – had made him a valued starter for his highly ranked interscholastic basketball team.

After graduating from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1964, John matriculated to Bowling Green State in Ohio, before finishing his Master’s Degree in Psychology back at Springfield College in 1967.  John’s professional career began in the Psychology Department at the Northampton State Hospital in Northampton, MA, where he earned his State Psychologist License, and the rank of Principal Psychologist in the State Mental Health System.  Post-Masters work at the University of Massachusetts School of Ed in Amherst gave him extra professional credits, and when the state hospital closed in the 1990’s, John was the most senior State Clinical Psychologist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He transitioned into Community Mental Health services, where he consulted for the Wing Memorial Hospital community clinic in Springfield, MA.  When the Carson Center for Human Services of Westfield, MA, assumed the administration of the Springfield Clinic, John became its Clinical Director, maintaining that position until he retired in 2004.

John had a quiet ability to inspire confidences in others. Long before his psychotherapist training provided a successful lifelong career, friends and peers very naturally came to him, trusting his easily delivered, non-judgmental advice, common sense insights, empathy, and lighthearted encouragement.  John’s highly skilled, but open-minded and open-hearted guidance became a valued life resource for hundreds of severely challenged adult clients over the course of his occupation. Furthermore, the dozens of professional staff he successfully supervised and guided throughout his work-life included his wife of 49 years, Dianne, (also a Clinical Psychologist) with whom he worked in virtually every phase of his vocational pursuits for more than five decades.

In addition to his work in the Mental Health field, John had a serious entrepreneurial streak. Starting in his early twenties, he invested in, and rehabbed, residential rental properties in several states. But as a landlord, his compassion for others frequently led him to accept as tenants those who were having difficulty renting elsewhere, and it was not uncommon for him to periodically accept labor and upkeep in lieu of rent.  John was always willing to hear someone’s unique story and generously give the benefit of the doubt.

But his real, lifelong passion and avocation could be described as “treasure hunting.”  John’s enthusiasm for seeking out, buying, and reselling antiques, artifacts, and second-hand relics, filled many happy hours. Over the years, he accumulated an encyclopedic knowledge of rare and contemporary collectables, primitives, and a wide assortment of interesting and obscure miscellany. His basic conviction that commodities should be recycled, repurposed, or reused wherever possible informed his dedicated commitment to environmental issues.   John believed there was always someone who would need or appreciate a previously used item, and he regularly devoted his efforts to distribute surplus merchandise to those who might value or benefit from it (including women’s shelters, animal rescue, or donations to fundraisers for many of the human service agencies with which he had been affiliated over the years.)

John exhibited at nationally ranked antique trade shows such as Atlantic City, Brimfield, Baltimore, etc., well into his late seventies. But his fascination with business ventures manifested early. Even in his pre-school years, he loved to craft small items and offer them for sale in his neighborhood. Buying, swapping, and selling coins for his growing collection also began in his pre-teen years, and he had an uncanny recall for the sources of specific coins he owned, no matter how many decades had passed since their acquisition.  His excitement over buying and parceling out auctioned Storage Units consumed his imagination, as he dreamed of scoring valuable, “one-of-a-kind,” objets d’art, coin collections, or collectible electronic devices.

Antique cars, including a 1951 bullet nose Studebaker, a 1958 4 door Edsel Citation, and a 1963 Mercedes SL, exemplified the delightfully quirky preferences that his friends and colleagues had come to associate with John. Some of his happiest pastimes were spent sweeping his White’s Metal Detector over a beach or long decommissioned fairgrounds, searching for gold rings or loose change lying just under the surface for generations. Residents of Gulf Island may have noticed John “magnet fishing,” (i.e. sitting in his wheelchair near the canals and tossing into the water a long rope attached to a powerful earth magnet, excited to see what he might dredge up!)  He never succeeded in bringing in a submerged Harley motorcycle, or even an old sledgehammer – but just like one of his treasure hunting heroes, Mel Fisher, (who discovered the Spanish Galleon, Atocha,) John would often repeat the resolute mantra, “Today’s the day!

Although it predated “Bethwood Antiques,” [the business name for John’s long-term endeavors as a 21^st Century online antiques and collectibles dealer,] one of his most successful forays into the retail business took the form of founding the “North King Antique Center.”  Established in the 3 months following the unanticipated dissolution of the Northampton State Hospital Psychology Department, John located an inviting store-front building, assembled a sizeable group of fellow antique consignment dealers, and began an exciting four-year run – (despite having opened during the first month of the long-term Recession of the1990’s!)  After more than 25 years serving in an inpatient facility, this antique store hiatus allowed John to gradually transition into the larger community-based mental health system, where he then continued to spend close to 15 more years in professional service provision.

John’s taste in music spanned an unusually eclectic range of styles and genres, from Baroque works by J.S. Bach and any arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon or Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” to Dub or reggae by Yellowman and Burning Spear.  He has even followed the revival of some 80’s pop stars such as Kate Bush. In recent years he discovered World Music from Mali & Korea. No matter if he couldn’t understand what was being said in a song – he would point out, “I don’t listen to lyrics anyway!” He was always eager to share his musical discoveries with others and could frequently be heard humming along to tunes blaring through his headphones.

His preferred literature styles included the science fiction of Asimov and Huxley, Stephen King novels, and non-fiction tales of treasure hunting and related historical discoveries and personalities, both ancient and contemporary.

A skilled, lifelong cards enthusiast (Pitch, Hearts, Blackjack, etc.,) John also enjoyed playing a complex marbles board game with family, as well as a growing number of Gulf Island residents. His fellow players have laughingly dubbed him “The Assassin,” for his adept ability to stymy their critical moves. Most evenings, John and Dianne would challenge each other in Scrabble. He often explained their consistently closely matched scores by acknowledging that, “She may be smarter and have a broader vocabulary… but I am the better strategist.”

John and his family enjoyed multiple annual vacations at their Ocho Rios beach-front bungalow in Jamaica, Caribbean cruises, and other exotic destinations (Hawaii, Costa Rica, Maine beaches, to name a few.)  When his daughter, Bethany, was studying abroad, John’s visit with her in Paris provided cherished and lifelong memories.  Some adventures involved his humorous but heroic attempts to communicate simple service requests in French, or how they accidentally waited outside of a cathedral for a Mozart concert at the `Eglise de la Madeleine, until they discovered they were in line for the church’s soup kitchen!

After living all their lives in Massachusetts, the Wood couple were naturally attracted by Florida’s sub-tropical climate, and visiting John’s parents in New Port Richey introduced them to the Pasco County area. During one winter get-away around the turn of the Millenium, a particularly inviting bench swing on Hudson Beach prompted John’s wife to declare, as she looked west across the Gulf at the big white stucco high rise, “This is where I want to be.”  True to form, whenever Dianne really set her heart on a goal or outcome, John’s eagerness to please set in motion the necessary planning process. This course of action led to the purchase of a 9^th floor Gulf Island Beach and Tennis Club condominium in Hudson.  The unit features a spectacular view of the Gulf of Mexico, just beyond a partially enclosed lagoon, which frequently welcomes pods of dolphins, seagrass munching manatees, and flocks of seabirds (which John loved to observe – and sometimes to hand feed, despite prevailing regulations!)

John possessed many qualities which others might be proud to claim (intelligence, tall stature, athletic prowess, etc.)  But one of his most unique attributes was his incredibly quick sense of humor, and the ability to astonish others with his out-of-the-blue “one-liners,” and disarmingly quick, often deadpan delivery, (ex. Q: “John, how old were you when you were making little coin purses to sell on your front porch?” A: “Let’s see, I was in Graduate School at the time and…”) Being able to pull off the same site gag, and still catch people completely off guard, exemplified his mastery of timing. (For decades he would periodically walk up to his beach dwelling sister-in-law, and casually attract her attention, while sporting a damp piece of mustache-sized seaweed across his upper lip. Somehow always unexpected at that moment, he’d crack her up every time!)  Other examples of his characteristically puckish style of wit include his responses to emailed appeals from “Nigerian princes” offering large sums of money in exchange for “nominal handling fees.”  John would reply by crafting lengthy and complex “counter plans,” proposing wild alternative schemes (all presented in a cleverly disguised, tongue-in-cheek manner.) Each of his return emails were unique, and by calling the bluff of his solicitors, he effectively prevented further intrusion into his privacy. The elaborate and convoluted counterschemes he contrived must have befuddled the swindlers sufficiently to ply their scams elsewhere!

Anyone familiar with John’s adult years – both before and after complications from accidental injuries limited his mobility – might not have ever envisioned John as a long distance runner.  However, when his sister-in-law suffered a stroke in 2003, John astounded his family with his unhesitating decision to participate in a half-Marathon sponsored by the American Stroke Association in Kona, Hawaii. Considering that he had only partially recovered from breaking both legs just the year before, his commitment to nightly training for six months amazed even his closest family and associates. Moreover, in fulfilling the physical demands of preparation, he effectively regained for himself the enhanced rehabilitation status he needed to return to successful mobility for the next several years. Marathon organizers in the Western MA contingent became so impressed with his physical efforts they presented him the Region’s Most Significant Lifestyle Change Award at the Marathon Banquet, attended by thousands of contestants.

More than any other factor, John’s personal love and devotion for family encompassed his most dominant character trait. Not always an outwardly demonstrable individual, he had a quiet but intense loyalty to whomever he counted as friends. Those grieving from his untimely departure must struggle to maintain the spark illuminated by his presence in their lives. The cadre of those missing John most keenly – and forever loving him – include his wife, Dianne Christine Wood, of Hudson, FL, his children, Bethany Wood Beatty of Stow, MA, and Erik Michael Wood, of Ocean, NJ., along with Son-in-Law David Lee Beatty and Daughter-in-Law Emily (Rosenblatt) Wood. The three grandchildren he adored: Rand Anderson Beatty, Lucy Harper Wood, and Nina Piper Wood, became the absolute joy of his senior years, and occupied his most cherished thoughts every day of his late life. Dozens of cousins, nieces, and nephews from both the Wood and Bouley families knew and loved John for his many kindnesses and unfailing sense of humor. Friends and colleagues from his professional endeavors, and associates from his businesses and hobbies found his warmth and amiable companionship a quality that belied his personal description of himself as “basically a shy person.”   The collective image of John’s lifelong adventure might be playfully reflected in David Bowie’s assertion that, “I don’t know where I’m going, but I promise it won’t be boring!”

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to plant a tree in Florida or your home state in John’s memory, through A Living Tribute.org.