PRISCILLA BIRON WOOD

SPRINGFIELD, Va. – Priscilla Biron Wood, 84, died Jan. 10, 2009, of natural causes, at Greenspring Village, a retirement community in Springfield, Va. Born Oct. 21, 1924, in Lowell, Mass., she grew up in Amesbury, Mass. Priscilla attended American University, where she met her husband, Herbert Wood, and graduated from Brown University. Her husband’s assignments in higher education took them first to Orono, then Ann Arbor, Mich., and Albion, Mich., then Kansas City, Mo., and finally in 1972 to the Washington, D.C., area. Since the late 1950s, they’ve spent part of each summer at their family camp on Beech Hill Pond, Otis, first with their children and later with their grandchildren. Priscilla was a talented artist with wide ranging interests that led her to attain proficiency and competency in music, astronomy, photography, gardening, writing, religious education, computer programming, institutional planning and research, and building design. She received her master’s degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, in institutional research in higher education. All her children and grandchildren say that they did not realize until later, how extraordinary Priscilla was, as she had led them to believe that all this was normal. Priscilla spent many years preparing and then marketing silk-screened greeting cards and hand made pottery. Her pottery has been marketed at shows and stores all through the country. Her most recent years have been spent teaching hand built pottery to many of the residents of Greenspring Village Retirement Community, who have found newly discovered talent in this artistic creativity. She taught Sunday school and discipleship classes, and was the church photographer at Messiah Methodist Church, Springfield, Va., for many years. Her greatest satisfaction in life always came from helping and encouraging others, and from doing things with her own hands. In addition to her husband, Herbert, she is survived by her children, James Wood, Gordon Wood, Janet Wood Hoke and Judy Wood; eight grandchildren and one great-grandson. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Greenspring Benevolent Care Fund, 7410 Spring Village Drive, Springfield, VA 22150.