Johnnie Wood

Johnnie Wood
Johnnie L. Wood, 83, an Arkansas native who lived all over the country and traveled the world before returning to her beloved Excelsior, died Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, at Pink Bud Home for the Golden Years.
Johnnie was born in Paris but grew up in San Francisco, where she graduated from Lowell High School and attended San Francisco State University. As a teenager she worked as a theater usher and at Folgers Coffee and Safeway Stores. After moving to Charlotte, N.C., she worked at North Carolina National Bank, now Bank of America, and retired from the Charlotte Observer, where she was a manager in the circulation department. Since retiring, she was active in the Excelsior Homemakers Club, director of EMP Fire Department, sunshine chairman for AARP Chapter 5099 in Fort Smith and volunteered at Hope Campus. She also delighted in putting on the annual Izell family reunion, a family institution for more than a decade. A passion she followed throughout her life was politics. She was a precinct chairman in Charlotte during the McGovern campaign in 1972 and stayed active in party politics for many years. Later in life, she loved the advent of 24-hour news channels and always had her TV tuned to MSNBC. She spent a lot of time in her later years sending greeting cards to everyone she knew. She sent Christmas cards and birthday cards to all the members of her AARP chapter. She spent a lot of time decorating them with appropriate stickers. The same was true of the many family cards she prepared.
She was preceded in death by her father, James Kirk Wood; her mother, Verna Izell Wood; a sister, Nancy Wood Walcott; and a brother, James Douglas Wood.
Johnnie is survived by her two sons, Jeffrey Purtee and wife Elizabeth of Reno, Nev., and Jay Purtee of Excelsior; her husband of 42 years, Richard C. Suits of Excelsior and his children Richard M. Suits and wife Esmeralda of Indian Trial, N.C., JoAnne Dimond and husband Harold of Charlotte, Pam Morrison and husband, Gregg of Charlotte, Candy McHale and husband Paul of Matthews, N.C., and Ted Suits and wife Mary of Indian Trail; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Although these were her husband's children and grandchildren, she loved them as though they were her own. Very little made her happier than having them all gathered together at holidays.
Funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, at McConnell Funeral Home Chapel in Greenwood with burial at Evans Cemetery in Excelsior.
Viewing will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, where the family will be present from 5-7 p.m.
The family would like to thank the nurses and staff at Pink Bud in Greenwood for taking such great care of Johnnie in her final hours.
To sign her online guestbook, please visit www.mcconnellfh.com.