Joseph Henry Wood, Sr., 79, of King Street, Clifton Forge, passed away at the Brian Center in Low Moor, on Friday, August 18, 2017.

Joe was born to his late parents, Henry Clay and Pink Gwinn Hutton Wood on November 2, 1937, in Clifton Forge.

He graduated from Clifton Forge High School in 1956 and Hampden Sydney College in 1960. He married his high school sweetheart, Katherine Key Martin on July 7, 1962 and raised their four children on Forest Hills.

After college, Joe served in the United States Army as a Special Forces Intelligence in Panama. He returned home to teach Spanish at Clifton Forge High School briefly then he joined the family business as President of Wood Chevrolet, until the early 1980s.

Joe was a retired insurance agent in the Alleghany Highlands. He was a lifelong member of the Clifton Forge Presbyterian Church and a member of many organizations during his life including the Clifton Forge Kiwanis, Clifton Forge Jaycees, Clifton Forge Masonic Lodge #166 A.F. & A.M., Clifton Forge Shrine Club, Kazim Temple of Roanoke, Clifton Forge Elks Lodge #1065, Hampden Sydney College Alumni, Clifton Forge Chamber of Commerce, Clifton Forge City Council and the Coffee Club.

He was a proud supporter of all things Clifton Forge including the Clifton Forge High School Alumni and the annual Golf Tournament. Joe loved to work the local elections and involved with decisions about the future.

Joe was most happy playing golf with his sons and enjoying a backyard cookout afterwards.

He is survived by his three sons, Joseph “Joe” Henry Wood, Jr. and his wife, Rhonda D. Wood of Troutville, Va., George “Marty” Martin Wood and his wife, Heather S. Wood, and David Clay Wood, of Boulder, Colo.; a daughter, Susan Katherine Wood and Doug Houtz, of Clifton Forge; grandchildren, Austin Aaron Wood, Henry Alan Wood, Natalie Maxey and Levi Fitzgerald and great-grandchildren, Skyler Aaron Wood, Journi Maxey and Leah Fitzgerald.

He was preceded in death by his wife Katherine Martin Key Wood in February of 2012, and by a brother Judge Tom Wood.

A Memorial Service will be conducted on Wednesday, August 23, at 2 pm. From the Chapel of Nicely Funeral Home, with Reverend Paul Brokaw officiating. Masonic Rites will be presented by members of Clifton Forge Masonic Lodge #166 A.F. & A. M. Interment will be private.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 12:30 pm until time of service at Nicely Funeral Home.

As Dad said one day before his death and on the eve of the Clifton Forge High School Alumni Weekend, “I’ve never missed an Alumni Weekend.” And he never will.

Memorials may be sent to the Clifton Forge High School Alumni Scholarship Fund, Attn: Karen Buzzard, Treasurer, P. O. Box 118, Clifton Forge, VA 24422.