Betty Jo Wood

Betty Jo Wood was born June 30, 1925, in Kankakee, Ill., and passed away peacefully in her sleep and on to the spiritual world on April 16, 2008.

She was raised in the central Illinois town of Colfax, by her mother Kathleen, with her younger sister June.

She married Charlie Hall Wood of St. Charles, Ill., in 1947.

They had six children together and lived in Batavia, Ill., from 1950-1980, when they moved to Sandpoint, Idaho.

Betty Jo was first and foremost a world citizen, devoted to serving and obeying God, and a long-time dedicated member of the Baha’i Faith, since 1948.

She opened her home to people of all races and religions in the early 1950s, when interracial gatherings were rare and frowned upon in a conservative and segregated community. Betty Jo and Charlie lived in the only neighborhood with African-American families in Batavia, Ill.

She was always somewhat of a rebel and questioner of blind authority.

A child of the Great Depression, Betty Jo was frugal, determined and clever, putting herself through nursing school in Chicago in the 1940s.

Small in stature, but sinewy in spirit, Betty Jo was a tough, hard-working but very thoughtful, kind and self-sacrificing human being.

Betty Jo was a nurse at Delnor Hospital in St. Charles, Ill., and Communi-ty Hospital in Geneva, Ill., from 1948 to 1980, then Bonner General Hospital from 1980 until her retirement in 1996. She was loved and respected by her patients and colleagues.

Betty Jo is among the last of the “Greatest Generation,” with a work ethic, community spirit, faith and dedication that is rare today.

She made life better for all she touched, and we will all miss her. We know she is with her Maker, already praying for us all on this earthly plain.

Betty Jo is survived by her husband Charlie of Sandpoint; children, Robert, Michael, Kathleen, James, Kimberly and Kristin; grandchildren Tracy, Robyn, Travis, Mindy, Zachary, Amelia, Rylan and Simon; and great-grandchildren, Cienna and Stirling.

She was preceded in death by her mother Kathleen Hasty, aunt Betty Edwards and sister June Lee all of northern Illinois.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2008, at the Gardenia Center, 400 Church Street, Sandpoint.

Family and friends are invited to sign Betty Jo’s online guest book at www.coffeltfuneral.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Coffelt Funeral Service.