John Wood
John Wood was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, but shortly relocated to Hermiston, Oregon with his family while his dad was still serving overseas during World War II. John was the second oldest of six children. He attended Eastern Oregon College in La Grande and earned a degree in Elementary Education. John worked his entire career as an educator at East Elementary School in Tillamook, Oregon. He spent thirty years teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, then returned after retiring to be a substitute teacher for another twelve years. John met his with Mary while she was teaching third grade at the same school. Their son Nicholas is a Fire Investigator for Bureau of Land Management.
John has always been an avid reader, especially of mysteries. After retiring from teaching, he took up golf, more-or-less full-time. He’s always enjoyed golf, even when the ball refuses to go straight. John started writing poetry during college in the mid nineteen-sixties. Early on, the writing was a way to examine and express his feelings, as he wasn’t one to talk about them much. His writing took off once he moved to Tillamook. And after retirement, he spent many happy cups of coffee in coffee shops filling yellow legal pads with his verse. He might even have penned a few poems in bars. He continues to write anywhere he can, as often as he can. The words come to him as a gift.
John moved to Tillamook in 1970, and after over fifty years of living there, is embarking on a new adventure in Corvallis, Oregon, closer to his son Nicholas, daughter-in-law Kelsey, and two grandchildren.
