Norma J. Wood, 88, of Franklin, passed away at the Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center in Sebring, Florida on December 26th, 2017 at 11:10 am.
Norma was born on May 8, 1929, in Oil City, the daughter of the late Philip and Goldie (Mealy) Yarnell.
She was a graduate of Franklin High School. Following graduation, she went to Fowler’s Beauty School and had her own shop located in the Trust Building in Franklin.
Norma met Curtis E. Wood at the Sugarcreek Roller Rink. They were married at the Evangelical United Brethren Church by Dr. Boyd Coleman on September 22, 1951.
She worked at JC Penney, Weston’s and retired after serving as Director of the Tax Claim and Personal Property Office of Venango County for many years. While working for Venango County, she served on the Pennsylvania State Tax Claim Board.
Norma loved to travel with her husband, Curt. They traveled to every state in the Union except for Hawaii and nine Canadian provinces. They visited state fairs in Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wyoming, Washington, New York and Iowa. Some of them were visited multiple times. They cruised the Caribbean and visited Caracas, Venezuela before it closed to US travelers. They went to world fairs in New York City, Montreal, Knoxville, and New Orleans.
They also traveled to Europe, visiting Holland, Vienna, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Paris. On their second trip to Europe, they crossed the English Channel seeing the White Cliffs of Dover. They then visited the British Isles, Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland.
This past summer, they traveled as far west as Jackson Hole, WY, and traveled to Canada and Maine. Their last fall anniversary trip was to see the fall leaves in the Adirondacks. Norma couldn’t pass up a casino wherever the road took them. She loved the fishing trips to Long Pointe Lodge in Elk Lake, Ontario with family and friends.
Norma and Curt were snowbirds, and wintered for years at Grandma’s Grove in LaBelle, Fl and most recently at Town and Country in Sebring, FL. They made friends wherever they were. They often stopped to visit the friends across the country on their travels. Norma loved playing cards with their Florida friends and her grandchildren. Summer weekends were spent in Franklin going to lunch and driving back roads with Libby and Kevin.
Norma enjoyed eating out and was always being ribbed by family about her oven never being used except to “store bread”. She also enjoyed reading, walking to stay young, and watching the morning news with a cup of coffee. She enjoyed watching her bird feeders and had a “love-hate” relationship with the squirrels who ate the birdfeed.
Her favorite song was “Danny Boy” and she loved listening to Frank Sinatra.
She loved all of her grandchildren and was grandma to whoever was around. She loved getting her alpaca fix by visiting Libby and Kevin at their Alpaca Farm in Franklin. She surely will be missed by all.
Left to cherish her memory is her husband of 66 years, Curt Wood; her son, George Wood, and his wife, Carol; her daughters, Elizabeth “Libby” Wood Stover and her husband, Kevin, Susan Wood Nasuti and her husband, Richard, Debra Wood Ring and her husband, Richard. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Jessica Oen and her husband, Ken, Rebecca Wood and her husband, Donald, Mallory Rowe and her husband, Cory, Tanner Wood, Emma Wood, Richard Ring and his wife, Sonia, Laura Nasuti and her husband, Ben Hagberg, Claire Nasuti and her husband, Peter Voakes, Sam Nasuti, Jessica Crawford and her husband, Rob, Joshua Stover and his wife, Martha, Katie Fry, Kyle Fry and Ryan Fry; her 16 great-grandchildren and her sister Bea Turner.
She was preceded in death by her brothers, Kenneth and Leroy “Red” Yarnell, and her sister, Ruth Elizabeth “Betty” Boyd.
Friends are invited to share their memories at the Gardinier Funeral Home, Inc., 1315 Chestnut Street on Monday, January 1, 2018, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. A celebration of her life will be held on Tuesday, January 2, 2018, at 11:00 am at the Franklin First United Methodist Church with Rev. Jeffrey Little, pastor of the church, officiating. Interment will be at Lupher Chapel Cemetery.
The family has asked that memorial contributions be made to the Franklin First United Methodist Church, 1102 Liberty Street, Franklin, PA 16323
To send cards, flowers or online condolences, friends and family are invited to visit www.gardinierfuneralhome.com.
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