JOSEPH WOOD, Jr. COCOA BEACH

Joseph Hooker Wood, Jr., 92, died at Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach, on Saturday, September 27, 2008. He was born in Lancaster, CA on May 23, 1916, and grew up in Minnesota.

After graduating from the University of Minnesota School of Mines, his long and varied career began as a Mining Engineer in Leadville, CO. When World War II approached, he enlisted in the Army and served until the wars end in the Pacific Theater, in Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Philippines.

In 1945, Joseph Wood married the former Elizabeth Sharples Harwood in Rhode Island. For the next 16 years they lived in the Mojave Desert of California. There, with his father and brother, he worked on their small, family- owned ranch, raising alfalfa, cattle, and three children.

During the Korean War, a call back into the Army Corps of Engineers interrupted his farming career. His next move was a return to engineering, this time in aerospace at the Edwards AF Rocket Base. From there he moved to the Chrysler Space Division in Huntsville, AL, Michoud, LA, and finally the Kennedy Space Center.

In retirement, he and his wife traveled extensively on walking tours, Elderhostels, and, most dear to their hearts, birding trips.

Joseph Wood is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elizabeth; son, J. Hooker Wood; two daughters, Carolyn H. Wood and Margaret W. Wood; two grandsons, Adam and Zachary Wood; a sister, Evelyn W. Moyle; nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at St. Davids By-The- Sea Episcopal Church in Cocoa Beach, on Monday, October 6, at 11 AM.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Nature Conservancy or the Florida Wildlife Hospital.