Wood 60th

WOOD 60th

Clarence “Woodie” and Crystal (Clymer) Wood celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 26, 2015. Their children provided them with a luxurious getaway in a plush five-star hotel.

Woodie was born and raised in the scenic and enchanting Black Hills of South Dakota. He attended Plainview Academy in eastern South Dakota. Crystal spent her early years in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, mostly Oregon. She attended Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle, Wash., for one year and later graduated from Columbia Academy.

In 1951, following Crystal’s first year at Walla Walla College (WWC), her parents accepted positions at Plainview Academy in South Dakota. Elder McKinley, South Dakota Conference president, asked Crystal to work for him. Interestingly and coincidentally, Woodie and Crystal met at Plainview because two of Woodie’s younger sisters were attending the academy, as was LeMoyne, Crystal’s younger brother.   

At that time Woodie was working in construction in Rapid City, S.D. They dated often during that school year but alas, after Camp Meeting in July, Crystal returned to Oregon and began working at the Oregon Conference for Elder C. J. Ritchie, Home Missionary secretary. 

Woodie was soon inducted into the army. He was stationed in Korea where he enjoyed the people, the country, the culture and his work there as a dental lab technician. He and his Adventist buddies assisted in building a new Adventist Church in the city of Chunchon.

During the several years apart, they continued their special friendship by correspondence. Fortuitously, Woodie was discharged from the service at Fort Lewis, Wash., in February 1955, enticingly close to Portland, Ore., where Crystal was living.

After a few days visiting Crystal in Portland, Woodie returned to the “Black Hills of Home.” The first part of June found Crystal taking her vacation to visit Woodie in Rapid City, where they became engaged. After four years of a long distance courtship and a short engagement, they were married on June 26, 1955, in Portland, and lived happily (mostly) ever after!

During the next 10 years they became the proud parents of four children. They now have six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Sadly, they lost their youngest son Darrin, at the age of 10 to a brain tumor.

Woodie attended La Sierra College, graduating in 1961 with a degree in Speech Pathology/Audiology. He took a year away from his studies to teach at the Adventist elementary school in Fallon, Nev. Then the family moved to Denver, Colo., where Woodie attended Denver University to obtain a master’s degree in 1963. From there they moved to Waukegan, Ill., where he became the Easter Seal Treatment Center director. After three years he was called to WWC to create and direct a new program in speech pathology/audiology and also act as interim manager of KGTS, the college radio station, for one year. 

For 22 years Woodie greatly enjoyed his teaching duties and interaction with students and faculty in the communication department, until the college closed out the program. He continued doing speech pathology/audiology in area public schools for the following five years until he retired.

Crystal worked as an administrative assistant for a number of years at three Adventist conference offices, a mining company, and an insurance company before obtaining a Nursing Home Administrator’s license to oversee the small nursing homes they owned. Following the death of their youngest son, Crystal returned to school and obtained her BS degree in nursing from WWC. She followed a  nursing career for 20 years. Then she accepted a position at WWC in the Career Development Center where she became the director. She retired in 1995. 

Their first mission adventure was a family trip to Central America in 1977 in a small motor home. They traveled through Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, where they visited long time friends, Jim and Vonnie Bechtel, self-supporting missionaries at a colegio in northern Guatemala. They spent the summer helping out wherever they could. 

After retiring they were privileged to make eight more trips to Central America driving trucks, buses or vans loaded with equipment, appliances, household items and clothing, for the colegio and orphanages. These visits included working in these institutions in various capacities. Many rewarding experiences and lasting friendships were formed.

Soon after retirement and interspersed with the above activities, the couple began living full time in a motorhome to escape northern winters and to explore more of the United States. This also gave them the opportunity to enjoy visiting scattered family, friends and places not seen for a long time.

They now spend most of their summers “across the patio” from the home of son-in-law, Robert and daughter, Janelle, in a pleasant and very comfortable apartment in Boise, Idaho. In the winter you will still find them in the sunny southland enjoying the “snowbird lifestyle.”

The Wood family includes Camille and Jerry Wood of Prineville, Ore.; Kevin of Bismark, N.D.; Janelle and Robert Schmidt of Boise, Idaho; 6 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.