Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Sidney Wood

Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Sidney Wood, Sr., 98, died July 6, 2013 at Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home. Born April 23, 1915 in Spartanburg, SC, he was the son of the late Lucretia Inez Saratt and Samuel Sylvannus Wood. Wood graduated from Spartanburg High School and Wofford College where he was an ROTC leader. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army and began a military career stationed at the Civilian Conservation Corps in Magnolia Springs, Ga. He was transferred to Camp Adair in Oregon where he became a member of the 383rd Battalion of the 98th Infantry Division, also called the “Deadeyes” for the troops’ advanced marksmanship in World War II. The division received the Presidential Unit Citation in Omaha, Neb. in 2001. During World War II, Lieutenant Wood was Captain of Company K in Okinawa. He also fought in Leyte and attended a signing ceremony at the surrender of Japan. His services continued during three tours of duty during the Korean War. At the time of his last military assignment as Officer in Charge of the US Army Reserve in Spartanburg, SC, Wood held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He retired with 23 years of service. Colonel Wood became assistant professor of Military Science and Tactics at Wofford College. He was also later Director of Human Resources at the Milliken Pacolet Plant and worked for the City of Spartanburg in the Office of Equal Opportunity and The Parks and Recreation Department. Colonel Wood served as president of the Daniel Morgan Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). He was also president of the South Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and became an establishing founding member of the SCSAR Carolina Colonial Ball. He was Regional Vice President General of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Colonel Wood was a long-time member of Trinity United Methodist Church. Colonel Wood was predeceased by his wife, Mary Eleanor Grantham Wood of Savannah, Ga. and two infant siblings. He is survived by his four children: Sarah Inez “Sally” Wood Hlavay (Joseph Francis) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Mary Eleanor Wood Smith (Levi Walter, III) of North Augusta, SC; Samuel Sidney Wood, Jr. (Deborah) of Fort Lawn, SC; and William Grantham Wood of Spartanburg, SC. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Levi Walter Smith, IV, Darrel Loyd Smith, Melissa D. Wood, Nathaniel G. Wood, and Matthew B. Wood. Other survivors include first cousins Sheila Mahan Brune, Anne Drain Gilliam, Martha Pacolet Sarratt Whitener, and Sidney Rose Sarratt Fant as well as one nephew, Benjamin Folsom Grantham, and one niece, Margaret Pepper Grantham. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church (626 Norwood Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302) specifically for altar flowers or to the Dishwasher Fund; Spartanburg Mobile Meals (419 E Main St Spartanburg, SC 29302); or Wofford College (429 N Church St Spartanburg, SC 29303).