Physician, Navy veteran, outdoor enthusiast
Phil Wood. (Courtesy photo)
Philip A. Wood MD, 82, of Harvard, died peacefully Feb. 17, 2019, in the Edith Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford. He was the beloved husband of Lynne Ellen (Ross) Wood, with whom he celebrated 56 years of marriage.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Jan. 15, 1937, he was a son of the late Alfred and Dorothy (Read) Wood.
Phil attended Chapel Hill School in Waltham, graduated from Wrentham Center School, and was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After graduate school he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Navy. He completed Officers Candidate School in Newport and was commissioned an ensign in 1962. He was assigned to the Pacific Fleet so he and Lynne drove their Volkswagen bug across the United States to San Diego for him to meet his first ship. He would later be stationed in Hawaii and deployed to Vietnam. He rose to the rank of lieutenant and was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal. After being discharged, he returned to Massachusetts and was employed at Digital Equipment Corporation where he held many positions including plant manager in Puerto Rico until 1992.
At age 55 he applied and was accepted to Tufts University School of Medicine and to his amazement, to a standing ovation and many tears, received his medical degree. He then worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he served as director of the Men’s Health Partnership, working with underserved men in community health centers throughout Massachusetts. He later was principal and founder of Healthcare Management Consultants.
Phil was an avid reader and model WWII plane builder who loved hiking and backpacking all over New England. He was an excellent chef who loved cooking meals for family and dear friends. He was well known for his wit, sense of humor, and love of family and friends who will long remember him.
In addition to his wife Lynne, Phil is survived by his much-loved brother Roger Wood and his wife Joann Haines of Sullivan, Maine; his beloved New England family; sister-in-law Beth E. Wagner of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; brother-in-law Richard J. Ross of Wrentham; and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Judith Wood and leaves her dear family in Maine.
A memorial service will be held at a later date with time and place to be announced.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to: David James Hospice Unit, Bedford VA Medical Center, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730 or the Dorothy Read Wood M1927 Book Fund, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111.
An online guestbook may be found at rjrossfuneralhomeinc.com.
