Mary Ellen Wood, 72, daughter of Benjamin Harrison and Mary Ida Raney Grimes, was born Feb. 8, 1930, near Mountain Grove. She died Dec. 18, 2002, at Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston. She grew up north of Mountain Grove and graduated from Mountain Grove High School in 1949. She married Fred Mabon Wood Sr. April 21, 1950. They had three sons. The Woods moved to a farm in the Hartville area shortly after their marriage, where they raised their sons. Mrs. Wood was a homemaker and helped her husband on the farm. She was a longtime member of the Bethel Chapel Free Will Baptist Church and liked collecting knickknacks and dolls. She was an avid reader of newspapers and enjoyed keeping up with current events. She was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Earl, Ralph and Claude Grimes. Surviving are her husband of 52 years; three sons, Fred Jr. of Houston, Ricky of Cataldo, Idaho, and Tommy of St. Louis; a brother, Harold Grimes of Fresno, Calif.; and a sister, Irene Tate of Mountain Grove; and three grandchildren. Services were Dec. 21 at the Bethel Chapel Free Will Baptist Church with the Rev. Danny Delcour officiating. Burial was in the Bethel Chapel Cemetery under the direction of Holman-Howe Funeral Homes of Hartville. “
