Obituary: Patricia Wood

Patricia Ann Alexander Wood, former pastor’s wife and ministry partner, died Oct. 27 in Waco. She was 91. She was born April 3, 1934, in Alvin to Charles and Helen Alexander. She graduated from Alvin High School and attended Baylor University, where she was named a Baylor Beauty. She valued her family’s long connection to Baylor and was proud that her children and grandchildren continued that tradition. In 1954, she married her Baylor classmate, John A. Wood. Together, they served in pastoral ministry for 67 years. Their work included three pastorates in Kentucky and First Baptist Church in Waco. Following their congregational ministry, the Woods established John Wood Ministries. Their work included helping build some of the first Christian churches in Russia and Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union. They also facilitated medical training in Waco for Ukrainian surgeons learning off-pump heart bypass surgery. For this work, they received the Ukraine President’s Merit Award, the nation’s highest honor granted to foreign citizens. In 2012, Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko visited their home in Waco to express his appreciation personally. Wood was known for her commitment to church hospitality, congregational care and support of missions. She taught and mentored in every church her family served. Her home in Waco was used frequently for church gatherings, missionary visits, Baylor student fellowship and ministry-related hospitality. She also shared her creative gifts through needlework and by preparing meals for church members, neighbors and visitors. She was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years and by nine siblings. She is survived by her son, John Alexander Wood of Waco; daughter Lea Ann Wood Edwards and her husband Chet Edwards of Waco.