Janet E. WOOD

1925 - 2016

WOOD, Janet E.
Janet Estelle Potters Wood, 90, wife of the late Thomas Kemble Wood of Honolulu, HI, passed away peacefully at Lourdes-McKeen Tower in West Palm Beach, FL on January 19, 2016. Janet was born in Brooklyn, NY on September 2, 1925, the only daughter of the late Rudolph and Jessie Potters of Palm Beach, FL. Janet grew up in Queens and attended high school at Penn Hall. She met Thomas while he was in service with the U.S. Navy and stationed in Manhattan. They married in 1944 after she had completed one year at Bryn Mawr College. Their marriage of 63 years was of lasting love and great affection. They lived in Philadelphia, PA until Thomas finished his naval service, following which they lived first in Boston, MA, then Oakland, CA while Thomas began his career. In 1948, they moved to Manhasset, NY, where Thomas began the career he would pursue for most of the rest of his life at Potters Brothers, Inc., a company founded by Janet's father and uncles. A few years later, they moved to Essex Fells, NJ where they lived for most of the rest of their lives, finally moving to Verona, NJ, their final New Jersey residence. They annually joined Janet's parents in the Palm Beach, FL area every winter first in Lake Worth and later enjoyed retirement in New Jersey and West Palm Beach. While caring for her family, Janet pursued the completion of her interrupted education, obtaining her Bachelor's Degree at Fairleigh Dickenson after many years' effort. She then went on to obtain a master's degree in library science at Columbia University and worked as a professional librarian for a few years in New York City. She pursued her interests in her family, education and knowledge, travel and particularly enjoyed he performing arts in Manhattan. She shared these interests with her children and friends enriching their lives in the process. She was a gracious and considerate woman who touched so many lives even as her increasing illness made her own life more difficult. Janet is survived by her three children: her daughter, Robin Wood McDonald of Atlanta, GA; her son, Ralph Kemble Wood and wife, Janet Catalina of Mohegan Lake, NY, and her daughter, Megan Epler Wood and her husband, Gregory Epler Wood of Burlington, VT. She is also survived by her three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren: David Kemble Wood of Brooklyn, NY, Heather Wood Millar, husband Stephen and their children Aodhan and Ruairi, and Christopher Wood. The family wishes to thank Janet's physician, Dr. Donald Watren who cared for her with competence and kindness, the staff at Lourdes-Noreen McKeen and especially her devoted caregivers Roseane Bastos, Ingris Melendez and Marie Holacka. Their devotion made all the difference in Janet's last years. "The dignity we seek in dying must be found in the dignity with which we have lived our lives." Dr. Sherwin Nuland - How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter.
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