Thomas Kemble Wood

WOOD Thomas Kemble Wood Company chairman, WWII vet, 89 Thomas Kemble Wood, 89, of Verona and West Palm Beach, Fla., died Aug. 17, 2008. A memorial service will be in St. Peters Episcopal Church, 2712 Roseland Ave., Essex Fells, on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 11 a.m. Arrangements are by the Farmer Funeral Home, Roseland. Mr. Wood was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, lived in Essex Fells and for the last 22 years in Verona. He was a business executive in the New Jersey area for more than 50 years. His father, David Kemble Wood, born in England, came to Honolulu via U.S. Army Service in the Philippines after serving in the Canadian Mounties, having been schooled at Dartmouth Naval College in the U.K. The Kemble family name denotes the familys direct relationship to the famed Shakespearean actors in 19th century England. Mr. Thomas Wood spent his youth in pre-war Honolulu, where he was an avid sailor, skin diver, fisherman and aircraft enthusiast. He surfed using an original redwood board, first built in Hawaii and saw Amelia Earhart land in Honolulu just prior to her disappearance. He enjoyed music and dancing and was the manager of a popular local big band. Mr. Wood was a 1937 graduate of the Iolani School and received a B.S. in mathematics and physics from the University of Hawaii in 1941. Mr. Wood was an officer in the Navy during World War II. His active duty included serving on a Pearl Harbor boom patrol boat as a midshipman on the U.S.S. Prairie State in Manhattan, studying engineering (related to the Manhattan Project) and development of anti-submarine radar. Mr. Wood was chairman of the board and president of Potters Industries, Valley Forge, Pa., and retired in 1984. He oversaw the expansion of the one-factory firm in Flushing, N.Y., into a multi-national firm based in Hasbrouck Heights, before it relocated to Valley Forge, Pa., with 23 factories in countries, including the U.K., Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Brazil and Argentina. He was a board member of the Annin Flag Company in Verona, a member of the Essex Fells County Club, the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Fla. and the Palm Beach Bath and Tennis Club. For 64 years, Mr. Wood was the husband of Janet Wood, whom he met in Manhattan while serving in the Navy. They shared a lifetime of happiness and love, worldwide exploration and a loving family life. He leaves behind three children, Robin H. McDonald of Atlanta, Ga., Ralph K. Wood of Mohegan, Lake, N.Y., and Megan Epler Wood and her husband, Gregory, of Burlington, Vt.; a brother, William Manners Wood, and three grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lourdes-Noreen McKeen Residence, 315 S. Flagler Dr., West Palm Beach, Fla. 33401, tel. 561-655-8544. DEATH NOTICES