Wilbur Richard "Bill" Wood

MERIDEN - Wilbur "Bill" Richard Wood, 70, of Meriden, beloved husband of Linda Mearns Wood, passed away suddenly on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013, while in the company of his loving family.

Bill was born in Rutland, Vt., Oct. 25, 1942, the son of the late Robert Wood and Hazel Mahar Wood. He attended high school in Fair Haven, Vt., where he was a bit of a local baseball hero and continued to star in baseball for Fair Haven High School. Following high school Bill was drafted to serve our country with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, achieving the rank of Sergeant, and returned home after a successful combat tour in Da Nang. He attended Casleton Teachers College and Hudson Valley Technical Institute, where Bill graduated with a Civil Engineering Degree. Bill purchased Stoney & Dorman's Trucking in Wallingford, along with his business partner and friend David Ostrowski. The two sold the successful operation in 1996. From there, Bill worked for the State of Connecticut at the Connecticut Lottery Corp. until retiring this past summer. Bill was an avid sports fan and could be seen always sporting his Boston Red Sox and New York Giants apparel regularly. He also had a passion for horse racing and spent many hours studying statistics and results from around the nations tracks. Each year, he looked forward to trekking to Saratoga, N.Y. with his wife Linda, to enjoy the races and fanfare. He also liked to venture to the Connecticut casinos to play bingo and slots with Linda and extended family members on the occasional long weekend. In 1983, he met his wife-to-be Linda Mearns Cedillo. The two were married in 1991, and Bill happily helped raise her three children, Kristopher Cedillo and his wife, Paula, of Wallingford, Keith Larsen, of Berlin and Kellie Shaw, of Naugatuck who all love him deeply. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Jeffrey and Kyle Shaw, Ava and Bennett Cedillo and Avery Walter-Larsen; his sister, Roxann McDonald and her husband, Don, of Voorhees, N.J.; and his nieces, Robin Sale and Rebecca Sale; his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Deborah and Steve Hanecak, of Litchfield; and nephews, Joseph, Brian, and Tommy Hanecak. "Poppy," as he was affectionately known by, will be sorely missed by friends and family and those who love him. He was always renowned for his friendly smile, sharp wit and selfless devotion to his family.

His family will receive relatives and friends in The Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 N. Main St. Ext., Sunday, Oct. 20, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. A funeral service will be held in The Wallingford Funeral Home at 1 p.m. A graveside service with military honors will be held Monday, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m. in the In Memoriam Cemetery in Wallingford. In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory may be sent to Wounded Warrior Project, P. O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas, 66675 or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center, P.O. Box 96764, Washington, D.C. 20090.

www.wallingfordfh.com.