James J. Wood

James Jay Wood died Saturday, May 10, 2025, at Dimensions Care Hospice House in Lincoln, after a three-year battle with cancer. He was eighty-one years old and a resident of Acton, Massachusetts, since 1987.

Jim was born on July 21, 1943, in Litchfield, Illinois, the son of Albert and Maxine (Morrison) Wood. He grew up in Bunker Hill, Illinois, where he attended local schools.

Jim’s love of music began in earnest when he started playing the clarinet in beginner band in 1953. He switched to playing the oboe and started private music lessons with Joseph Antonucci and later with George Hussey, principal oboists with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. His love of opera began with listening to the Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. By 1960, Jim was an oboist with the St. Louis Little Symphony as well as the orchestra of an opera festival at Washington University in St. Louis.

Jim graduated as the valedictorian of Bunker Hill High School’s Class of 1961 and set his sights on attending Yale University. In fact, it was the only school he applied to.

Jim received a Bachelor's degree in history from Yale University in 1965. In college, Jim went to Norway with the Yale Band, served as president of the Yale Political Union, and joined Berzelius during his senior year.

After college, Jim returned to Illinois and taught history at Carlinville High School. He enlisted in the Army in 1966 and joined the Fifth Army Band at Fort Sheridan, north of Chicago. A year later, he went overseas and joined the U.S. Army in Europe Band at Heidelberg, West Germany. It was there that mutual friends introduced Jim to an opera singer from Texas who was studying in Europe on a Fulbright scholarship. Jeanette Hall became Jim’s soulmate and the love of his life. Jim and Jeanette were married at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Frankfurt on August 24, 1968.

After his Army service ended, Jim and Jeanette moved to Buffalo, New York. Jim enrolled in graduate school at SUNY at Buffalo and received a Master’s degree in 1973.

Although Jim intended to get a Ph.D. in history, those plans were put aside when a different career path opened up in 1973. Jim went to work for the Research Institute on Alcoholism in Buffalo. At RIA, he learned to use computers and a software package called Prophet developed by Bolt, Beranek & Newman. In 1976, he was hired by BB&N, and Jim and Jeanette moved to Massachusetts.

Although Jim enjoyed his years at BB&N and working as an independent consultant, he didn’t find his true calling until 1994. For the next 25 years, Jim served as parish administrator for Trinity Episcopal Church in Concord and later with the Church of the Advent in Boston. As parish administrator, Jim had found a job that utilized his passion for history, music and faith. He retired in 2019.

After 51 years of marriage, Jeanette died in October 2019. Their marriage endured due to their mutual interests and an abiding love for each other.

Jim Wood was a man of many talents, a man who loved life, and a man of deep faith.

Jim is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Barry and Theresa Wood of Springfield, Illinois; a niece, Lisa Sullivan of Champaign, Illinois; a great-niece, Kathleen Sullivan of Chicago, Illinois; a great-nephew, Grayson Sullivan of Champaign; several cousins; and many dear friends and neighbors.

Jim’s family would like to express their gratitude to the staff at Emerson Hospital, the Commons of Lincoln, Acton Visiting Nurses, and Care Dimensions Hospice House of Lincoln for their loving care during the past several years. The family would also like to thank Jim’s special friends (Albe and Ray Larsen, Rob Dawson, Jeff Fuhrer and Jon Benson) who helped him so much during the past three years.

Family and friends will gather for a Mass of the Resurrection on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at 11:00 AM at Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, Massachusetts. Interment will follow in the parish memorial garden.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to:
Trinity Episcopal Church
81 Elm Street
Concord, MA 01742

Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, Concord, MA 01742  978-369-3388   www.concordfuneral.com