Obituary of Jeanne K. Wood
Jeanne K. Wood 1926-2020
After ninety-three healthy years, Jeanne K. Wood passed away from natural causes as a consequence of COVID-19 on May 10, 2020, Mother’s Day. Jeanne was born in Yonkers, NY in 1926 to Harry S. Keller and Helen F. Minck. Her father descended from the Kniffin’s of Westchester & Rockland counties in New York and her mother from the Skiff family of Tolland & Litchfield counties in Connecticut. Ancestors from both families were veterans on the winning side of the Revolutionary War. Family lore traces back to James Skiff, born in 1610 in Chelsea, London, England, who emigrated to escape the Plague of 1665.
Jeanne graduated high school in 1944 in Poughkeepsie, NY. She enrolled in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps and earned her certification as a Registered Nurse from Vassar Brothers Hospital where she began work in 1947. On May 22, 1949 Jeanne married Charles O. Wood of Poughkeepsie, also born in Yonkers, NY, who predeceased her on May 22, 2001 after 52 years of marriage.
Jeanne recalled growing up poor during the Great Depression, moving frequently, and described herself, fondly, later in life, as a hoarder of canned goods from that experience. Like many of that Greatest Generation, Jeanne knitted, sewed and was eager to learn new crafts. She tended vegetable and flower gardens, drove Mustangs and Jeeps, and attended regular Sunday breakfasts with life-long friends at local diners. Jeanne enjoyed making dresses for herself and her daughters, countless cross stitch pieces, and later in life an endless supply of ceramics with her friends Marilyn and Karin. There was always a jigsaw puzzle in progress and rarely an idle moment.
Jeanne and Charles resided in Poughkeepsie, Wappingers Falls, and La Grangeville. They owned property on Long Beach Island, NJ with Charlie’s brother Cliff, where the families vacationed together. Later in life, after the New Jersey property was sold, the families renovated summer cottages on Upton Lake in Clinton Corners, NY and spent summers together with visits from children and grandchildren.
Jeanne is survived by her children: Lynn and her husband Joseph De Michele of Sleepy Hollow, NY; Nancy and her husband Robin Goodrich of St. Louis, MO; and Richard and his wife Juli Wood of Austin, TX; five grandchildren: Christian Goodrich and his wife Renee; Daniel Goodrich and his wife Kim Darcy; Alexandra Wood Lonen and her husband Joey; Ryan De Michele; and Peri Wood; and two greatgrandchildren: Rylee and Connor Goodrich, children of Christian and Renee. Jeanne’s brother, Harry Stetson Keller, Jr., a retired U.S. Navy Captain who died in 1996 is survived by his children Margaret, Richard and, Jamie.
Jeanne was cremated and her ashes will be buried with her husband Charles in the Wappingers Rural Cemetery in a private ceremony.
Donations may be made in memory of Jeanne K. Wood to: Friends of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, P.O. Box 8444, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591.
