Dorothy Wood Bates

This is the obituary for Dorothy’s mother.

Mary Vivian Grover Wood, age 88 of Leeds, Utah joined her husband, parents, siblings, and grandson in heaven on April 20, 2022. The youngest of seven children, Mary was born to Leo Thomas Grover and Lizzie Leone Wilding Grover, in Sugar City, Idaho. She learned how to work early in life raising animals and gardening to help sustain the family. Her father farmed and built houses which took them to various locations in Idaho, and when she was 12 the family moved to Mapleton, Utah.

When Mary was just 15, she met her soulmate, Blaine D. Wood and were married February 3, 1950. After a few years they moved to St. George. From the time they were married they preferred spending most of their time together working, playing, raising their four children, and serving those around them.

Her favorite place to be was with him and they spent most of their time together through their 68 years together. She worked side by side with Blaine, pumped gas and helped him manage Premium Oil, kept books, hoisted bags and blocks of ice into ice trucks and rode with him to deliver it. They were entrepreneurs and started many businesses including: the Kings Chicken, Tropic Travel, Tropic Ice, Dixie Amusement and Vending, and Red Hills Distributing.

As a mother, she taught her children how to work and play hard. Together, the family loved boating, snowmobiling, water skiing, camping and four-wheeling. She was always up for a fun adventure and usually lead the pack. Mary was an amazing person. She enjoyed serving and working with the Young Women as stake and district camp director. She was a survivalist, loved hiking and nature, and was very organized. The girls, and leaders alike, enjoyed those trips. She could identify herbs, plants, different animal tracks and had more than her share of common sense.

Mary was an artist and had a great eye for beauty. She made jewelry, learned to oil paint and designed her homes. She had a special knack for making a place feel comfortable as well as beautiful. She enjoyed sharing her bounty and many enjoyed staying at Blaine and Mary’s cabin at Kolob over the years. Her home was always welcoming. She made many beautiful quilts and 100’s of crocheted hats for those in need. Her oil paintings adorn the walls of her home as well as children and friends.

Blaine and Mary were among the first to help with rescue searches in Washington County and loved helping out. While spending the winters in San Filipe, Baja California they gained many friends as they served there. She loved her wards and her communities in St. George, Ash Creek, Toquerville and Leeds.

She was an avid genealogist and loved her extended family – gathering and sharing records and histories. She looked forward to times spent with siblings and relatives, both Grover and Wood, and had many fun times together. She was Blaine’s loyal, forever sweetheart. She tenderly cared for him for the last decade of his life as Alzheimer’s gradually took him away four years ago. She was a wonderful mother, and grandmother.

Mary is preceded in death by her parents; her dear husband, Blaine D Wood; her grandson L Brant Wood; her siblings, Elmo Grover, Leone Grover Nourse (Leon), Ben Grover, Joel Grover (Bonnie), Hart Grover (Laura), and Beth Grover Bonnenburg (Rudy); and her husband’s siblings, Lothair Wood (Leah), Athene Slater (Arthur), Thelma Ludlow (Lynn), Francillo Wood (Bernice), Darrell Wood (Betty), Kenneth Wood.

She is survived by her children: Dorothy Bates, Washington, Utah; Lyle (Lori), LaVerkin, Utah; Gary (Kathy), Farmington, Utah; Dean (Allyson), Delta, Utah; Grandchildren: Monyca Stemmons, Tarek Thomas, Crystal Morey, Darci Shields, Courtney Wood, Matt Wood, Kyle Wood, Angela Dana, Tomi Durham, Jordan Wood, Dustin Wood, Kacie Bennett, Kristie Romberg, Tyler Wood, Kimberly Sant, Michael Wood, Blaine Wood, Taylor Wood, Candice Dingman, Nikki Wood; 75 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren, Siblings in law: Faye Grover, Carrol Grover, and Jay Wood (Glenda).

Funeral services will be held April 30, 2022, in the Leeds LDS Chapel at 10 a.m. with a viewing beginning at 9 a.m. There will also be a viewing held the evening prior from 6-8 p.m. at Metcalf Mortuary. A private graveside service will be held at Kolob Mountain Cemetery at a later date.

Live streaming webcast is available at www.metcalfmortuary.com by clicking on the obituary, then click on broadcast at the bottom.

Arrangements entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, (435) 673-4221. Please visit our website at www.metcalfmortuary.com for condolences, complete obituary and funeral listings.

 

This is the obituary for Dorothy’s father.

Leeds, Utah – Blaine “D” Wood, 89, passed away on Thursday, 7 June 2018 after a long journey with Alzheimer’s disease.  Blaine, or “Beaner” as his friends and family called him, was well known in the St. George area as a respected businessman and entrepreneur.  He managed the old Premium Oil service station on Bluff Street and was involved in a number of other local businesses including: Dixie Amusement and Vending Co., Red Hills Distributing Co., and Tropic Ice Co.  Throughout his career, he employed many people and he always strove to be a fair and understanding boss.

Blaine was born 11 Jan. 1929 to Amos Benoni and Sarah Ann Durfey Wood.  He was the youngest of eight children all raised in Spanish Fork. It was there in Spanish Fork that he met and married his soulmate Mary Vivian Grover on 3 Feb. 1950.  They were later sealed in the St. George Temple on 15 June 1965. Together they raised four children, a daughter and three sons. He was deeply loved and respected as he taught his family to be honest and kind, to work hard and to play hard.

Blaine enjoyed flying and was one of the first commercial pilots in the St. George area.  At one time he was employed by the Hollywood movie makers to fly daily cuts of film to Las Vegas for processing.  He was instrumental in starting the local squadron for the Utah Civil Air Patrol and worked hard at organizing air-search efforts for the community when called upon by local authorities.

He also enjoyed riding 4-wheelers and snowmobiles near his cabin on Kolob mountain and spending time at his little beach house near San Felipe, Mexico.

Blaine is survived by his devoted wife and best friend, Mary, of Leeds, Utah; daughter, Dorothy Bates, and son: Lyle (Lori) Gary (Kathy), Dean (Allyson); 21 grandchildren, 68 great-grandchildren , one great-great-grandson; brother, Jay D Wood (Glenda) and a brother-in-law, Arthur Slater.

He was preceded in death by his parents; siblings: Fere (Leah) Wood, Derb (Bernice) Wood, Chick (Lynn) Ludlow, Athene (Arthur) Slater, Deb and Betty Wood, Kenneth D Wood; and grandson, “L” Brant Wood.

Funeral services will be held Monday, 11 June 2018, at 11:00 a.m. at the Leeds L.D.S. Chapel, 75 North Main Street, Leeds, Utah. Visitations will be held Sunday, June 10th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Metcalf Mortuary, 288 West St. George Blvd and prior to service, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the church.   Interment will take place at a future date in the Kolob Mountain Cemetery.

The family would like to thank the Home Instead Senior Care staff and the Rocky Mountain Hospice caregivers for bringing understanding and compassion in this tender time.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, https://alzfdn.org/fundraising-donation/  to help fund research to cure this debilitating disease.