Obituary of Mary Margaret Wood

Mary Margaret Wood passed away suddenly on December 12, 2019 at Domincan Hospital of Santa Cruz. She was 75. Mary was born in San Francisco on February 25, 1944, the daughter of Vernon Miller and Margaret Darah Patterson.  Her early years were spent in the city San Francisco and at the age of 13, she moved to Felton, CA.  She graduated in 1962 from Holy Cross High School in Santa Cruz and went on to attend San Jose O’ Connor Hospital School of Nursing.  She studied and received a Business Administration Degree from St. Mary’s University in Moraga as well as a Master’s of History through an online program.

She was married in 1965 to David Wood Sr. (Kelly) and they were married for 49 years until his passing in 2015.  They loved to travel and had many good times in Hawaii (Big Island and Maui) and Lake Tahoe.  Although most of their years were spent in the San Lorenzo Valley, they did enjoy 13 years of golf and relaxation in Tucson, AZ.  They returned to Santa Cruz in 2008.

She had a passion for nursing and spent her entire career at Dominican Hospital.  She was well respected in the nursing community and ultimately worked her way to Head Nurse of Obstetrics.  Mary was also very instrumental in the development and installation of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Dominican.

Mary was very active in the community and spent countless hours volunteering.  Organizations that benefited from her service include Santa Cruz Mission Adobe, Evergreen Cemetery, Friends of Felton Library, San Lorenzo Valley Historical Society and Santa Cruz Museum or Art and History.  She obviously had a passion for history and loved Santa Cruz, CA.

She is survived by her son, David Wood of Santa Rosa; daughter, Carolyn DiMarco and her husband Chad of Huntington Beach; her step granddaughter Madison DiMarco; her four grandchildren, Meghan and Shane Wood of Santa Rosa and Cole and Chance DiMarco of Huntington Beach; sister in law, Margaret Burkett of Sacramento and her “adopted family” Mark and Michele Gentry of Felton.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. John’s Catholic Church, 5953 Highway 9, Felton, CA on Saturday January 4, 2019 at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at Felton Cemetery, 449 Felton Empire Road, Felton, CA. In lieu of flowers, contributions are preferred for Dominican Hospital NICU, 1555 Soquel Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95065 or to your favorite charity. To express your condolences to Mary’s family, please visit www.pacificgardenschapel.com.