Edwin Wood

1925 - 2016

Edwin C. Wood
1925-2016
Edwin Charles Wood, May 27, 1925 – June 20, 2016.
Edwin grew up in Washington D.C, attended public schools and graduated from Calvin Coolidge High School in1943. Because of the pressing need for physicians during World War II, he was accepted to the George Washington School of Medicine prior to high school graduation. He worked as a pathology "student fellow", performed many post mortem exams and as a result developed pulmonary tuberculosis. He was admitted to Trudeau Sanitarium for bed rest. The emotional impact of his lengthy illness led Edwin to become interested in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Graduating summa cum laude he was appointed as an intern on the Medical Staff of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Edwin went on to begin his psychiatric career as a resident in the Yale-New Haven Psychiatry Residency program.
Edwin was drafted into the U.S. Naval Reserves and assigned as a psychiatrist at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Portsmouth, VA. Upon discharge from the Naval Reserves Edwin worked as a psychiatrist at the West Haven, CT, V.A. Hospital. Through his interest in hospital psychiatry he published several papers related to admissions and the hospital treatment experience as well as a post discharge follow up study. Edwin began his private practice and teaching on the Yale Psychiatry faculty. In 1961 Edwin graduated from the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis and became a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Later that year Edwin became the Associate Director of Psychiatric Education at the Institute of Living in Hartford, CT until 1972.
Edwin moved to Houston, TX joining the Houston – Galveston Psychoanalytic Institute. He was an active therapist, supervisor and teacher with the Institute and President from 1986 – 1990. Edwin retired his practice at the age of 89 in 2014.
Edwin's life was full and kind, characterized by great compassion for his fellow man.
He is survived by his loving wife, Shelley, step-son Airman Rex Johnson; son Barry and his wife Loraine, grandchildren Katlin, Hope and Cara; daughter Nancy and life partner Sandy Baker; Muriel Schweer Wood, mother of his children and dear friend.
Preceded in death by his mother and father, Charles and Lillie Wood and son, Thomas George Wood.
As a gift to his profession, Edwin's final wish was to donate his body to the Baylor College of Medicine.
The family has chosen to have private Memorial. Interested parties may make a contribution to either The American Lung Association or the Southwest Indian Children's Fund.