William Vernal Wood

Our loving son, brother, father and uncle Bill passed away on May 21, 2020, just a few short weeks of his 54th birthday.  He was the son of Vernal T. Wood and Carol Pettit Wood being raised in Bountiful, Utah.  He graduated from Bountiful High School in 1984, attended BYU Hawaii one semester and transferred to Weber State in Ogden.

Bill was a loving child, a buddy to his mother while his father was on shift work at the FAA.  She and Bill hiked and motorcycled in the mountains, played tennis, and Shoots & Ladders among other games as a youngster and read books together.  From the very day before he was born, he spent his life with us mostly at Pineview Reservoir, Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell fishing, swimming, exploring the canyons and water/snow skiing.

As young as eight, his father turned over the chore to Bill for mowing the lawn, including walking a push mower to our apartments several blocks away to help in maintenance.  He was a dedicated worker in early teens riding his bike to work to Pinea Nursery or the Bangerter produce farm in Bountiful.  While still in high school, he started out at Winegar’s grocery store assigned to remove chewing gum and sweep the floors and was quickly promoted to the position as the only boy checker.  Many other jobs followed, each one being highly respected as an employee. 

His boyhood dream was realized when he was hired by Union Pacific RR working his way up to conductor and engineer.   He was with them for 23 years driving trains to Elko, NV or to Green River, WY.  He loved his job and received a special recognition award for acting quickly to save a locomotive and its connecting cars from a disaster while sitting on the rails.

Bill married his childhood sweetheart in 1985, producing a son.  After a divorce and time, friendship returned.  He married a second time, for many years, producing a little daughter.  When that union dissolved, there was a special friend with whom he looked forward to marrying.  He loved deeply and was trusting.

His painful torture physically and mentally is now over with.  He has reunited with his father and grandfather and is at peace.  We are happy for him though he will be missed the rest of our earthly lives.

Survivors are his mother, sisters Tonya and Terry, son Johnny and daughter Kassadee, step-son Parker Thomas, plus many cousins, nieces and nephews who enjoyed his companionship while growing up.

Bill preferred a short graveside service similar to what his father had chosen.  His close buddies from high school and a few family members will attend this memorial.  Burial will be at the Bountiful Cemetery on Wednesday May 27 where he will be laid to rest beside his dad.