Two weeks ago, my great grandmother passed away. This was Jackson, Creighton, and Easton's Great, Great, Grandma. 5 generations. That doesn't happen that often. I guess you can say that we have good genes because my mom has a new acticle with a picture of 5 full sets of grandparents when I was a baby.
My kids know her as, "the grandma with the white hair." But I will always remember her for her beautiful red hair as shown in the picture below. My kids loved going with my mom to visit her and she loved them.
I have a great love for my grandma. She was always so generous. I still remember when Mitch and I were approaching our 1st anniversary of marriage, we were struggling financially. We had just taken over a mortgage of a home we couldn't afford, I was working as many overtime hours as were handed out, and things were just plain tight. That Christmas, my grandma gave us our Christmas present. It was a check and when she handed them out, she mentioned that she thought she would start giving away some of our inheritance now, rather than later. Although she gave every one of us the same amount, I think that she was inspired to do so, just for us. Some may say it was coincidence, but I think not. This experience was one of the bases for my firm testimony on paying tithing.
We went and visited my sweet Grandma a few days before she passed away. My mom had told me that she had something for the boys. When we arrived, she could hardly keep her eyes open, but each of the boys went and gave her a kiss and she smiled. Then she had someone go and get the "prizes" she had made for them. She handed each of them a ziploc baggie full of Cheese Puffs. The boys couldn't have been happier. Mine as well as their last memory of her is of her giving. I have attached her obituary as well as a newspaper article.
Boys....I hope you can remember "Grandma with the white hair" and you can look at her life as a life full of service and you can strive to be like her in your own lives. I know I want to.
Love you Grandma.
H. Roene Wood
April 23, 1916 ~ February 13, 2012
Beloved Mother
Hazel Roene McRae Wood, 95, loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, sister and friend to everyone, peacefully died February 13, 2012 in her home due to advanced age.
Born Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916, in Granger, Utah to Orson David and Hazel Murphy McRae. She grew up in Granger until she married Everett D. Wood July 2, 1935 in Granger, Utah; the marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple. Attended Plymouth Elementary, Plymouth Jr. High and Granite High School where she was active in sports and other activities. She lived most of her married life in the Bennion/Taylorsville area. She worked as a dental assistant and at U & I Sugar Beet Factory Lab. Active in the LDS Church. Served as ward and stake Primary president and teacher, and ward and stake Relief Society president as well as counselor, secretary and teacher. She was a visiting teacher for over 70 years. Roene was active in civic work. She was Salt Lake County Fair secretary and treasurer for 22 years and was on the SL County Fair Board for over 50 years. She was the Home Arts supervisor at both the State (21 yrs) and County (50 yrs) Fairs and a supervisor for the 4-H department at the SL County and Utah State Fair. She was a judge at many County Fairs and State Fair. PTA president of Plymouth School, Granite School District and served on boards for district and state levels. She was still active in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers at the time of her death where she served as the Granger Camp treasurer for 48 years. She was a 4-H leader for boys and girls for over 50 years and also supervisor of leaders. Roene loved to travel and camp with friends and family. She went to many foreign countries and states in the US. She was always charming and well-groomed. She was a great leader, a wonderful homemaker, great cook and an excellent seamstress, winning many ribbons. Also was a Sweepstakes winner at the County and State Fairs. She worked hard milking cows, driving the grain truck from the dry farm and to the mill and working in her garden. She helped her husband build their home of 62 years. She had a sharp mind until the end. Drove a car until age 90 when she fell and broke her pelvis and hip. She was a fighter and survived many surgeries. The family called her the "Come Back Kid."
Survived by her sons, Larry Everett (Della) Wood, West Valley City; Eugene M. (Eileen), Salt Lake City; daughters, Gayla (Alan) Finlayson, Phoenix, AZ; Norma (Lee) Letzerich, St. George; 16 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren; 14 great-great grandchildren; sister, June M. Lambert, Taylorsville; sisters and brothers-in-law, Thelma Jaynes, Taylorsville; Donna Wood, Taylorsville; Hank Cameron, Salt Lake City; and Glen Dorrity, Modesto, CA. Preceded in death by her husband, Everett; parents; son, Jerry; granddaughters, Camille W. Burton and Jill Finlayson, brothers, Orson Mark, Daniel, Karl McRae; sisters, Annabell Dorrity and Grace Cameron; brothers-in-law, Homer Jaynes, Stern R. Wood, Shirley Wood and Jim Lambert; sisters-in-law, Delphia Wood, Gloria, Vi and Coral McRae; great-grandson, Quentin Henderson; great-great grandson, Charlie Kirton.
The family would like to thank the care centers for their care, Pine Mountain Hospice, Relief Society sisters, the doctors, nurses, care givers and therapists that came into her home.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 18, 2012, 11:00 a.m. at the Bennion East Stake Center, 5980 South 1300 West. Viewings will be held Friday, 6-8 p.m. at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road and Saturday at the church, 9:30-10:45 a.m. Interment, Murray City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity.
Roene Wood, longtime Salt Lake County Fair worker, dies
For more than half a century, Roene Wood was a fixture at the Salt Lake County Fair.
And when she wasn’t working on its annual run in Murray Park, she devoted her free time to being home-arts supervisor at the State Fair, a 4-H leader, a PTA president, an LDS Relief Society leader, an officer in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and a seamstress, winning many ribbons of her own at fairs.
“She spent a lot of hours working back then in the days when I think they paid 25 cents an hour or less. If you made enough money to pay gas in your car, you considered yourself lucky,” said Sparky Dibble, creative-arts supervisor at the State Fair and competitive exhibits coordinator at the County Fair. “It was all volunteer service strictly for the community.”
Wood died at her home Monday of causes incident to age. She was 95. She will be buried Saturday in Murray City Cemetery after 11 a.m. services at the Bennion East LDS Stake Center, 5980 S. 1300 West.
“Roene loved being in charge and knew how to do it,” said Ella Steffensen, 92, of Murray, one of Wood’s closest friends. “She was a real good manager and was able to attract people who were good at doing different things, a very good organizer.
“She got all of our family working — first me, then my daughters,” added Steffensen, mother of 14, including five girls. “We got a dollar a day when we started years ago, but we made it a County Fair.”
Dibble said Wood’s name became synonymous with the County Fair through old-fashioned hard work.
“She did her job above and beyond,” he said. “She was the one who always made sure wedding gowns hung just right on mannequins. And she made sure every [exhibitor’s] article, even if it was just a little hankie, was displayed well.”
But much of her physical legacy was lost when the County Fair moved from Murray to South Jordan in 1998. “The gorgeous glass display cases, the beautiful stuff she did there, went by the wayside,” Dibble said.
Wood, whose first name actually was Hazel, was born April 23, 1916, in Granger (now part of West Valley City) to Orson and Hazel Murphy McRae. She married Everett Wood on July 2, 1935, in Granger and later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. She lived most of her life in the Taylorsville area.
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