Lorraine McDowell Wood

LORRAINE MCDOWELL WOOD, the only child of Tyler Frances McDowell and Elizabeth Bell McDowell, was born in Weirton, West Virginia on June 14, 1924. Lorraine was a curious, industrious, and playful child. Lorraine learned to cook and sew at an early age, and as an adult was well known for her delectable fruit cakes and beautifully sewn clothes. Lorraine excelled in all of her endeavors. She attended Bluefield State College near the onset of WWII. While in college, Lorraine pledged and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. One of the professors suggested his students take tests for pending government jobs. Lorraine passed her examination and was offered a job at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland. Lorraine informed her mother who was teaching in Bluefield Virginia at that time, she was moving to Baltimore to work. Lorraine’s mother told her that she was not moving alone, so she sold their home, and moved to Baltimore. While Lorraine was working with the Social Security Administration, her mother completed her Maryland Teacher’s Certification. During that same time, Lorraine and her mother attended Morgan State College together. Every other semester they took turns either attending classes or washing and ironing all the curtains in their dorm to help pay for school and board. She was introduced to George Thomas Wood II by Lilly Sturgis Boston, one of George’s closest cousins and Lorraine’s best friend. George and Lorraine dated, and soon thereafter eloped and were married in New York on April 8, 1950. Mya Wood Hilliard, Rene Wood, and George Thomas Wood III (Tommy) were conceived as a result of their union and marriage of 58 years, until George’s passing on May 13, 2008. Lorraine was a stay-at-home mom until all her children began school and returned to the workforce as an Administrative Assistant for Presidents and Vice Presidents at the Community College of Baltimore. George was a teacher at Frederick Douglass High School, waited tables at Baltimore Country Club and taught Drivers Education and summer school. Lorraine and George ensured that their 3 children completed college and strongly suggested they proceed to Graduate School. Lorraine enjoyed her life, was full of enthusiasm and kept a busy schedule. She was always on the go, shopping, going to casinos, attending dances, and going on family vacations. She enjoyed car rides in the country and learning about new locations in downtown Baltimore. Lorraine was an avid scrabble player and won 3rd place in a Baltimore City Scrabble tournament. She would contend that she was really in second place because one opponent cheated. Lorraine enjoyed people and was a tour de force who touched many lives. We will miss her. Lorraine’s parents Tyler and Elizabeth, her husband George, and their daughter Mya, preceded her in death along with 19 brothers and sisters-in-law. Lorraine is survived by: her daughter, Rene Wood; son, George Thomas Wood III; daughter-in-law, Nicole Chere’ Syphax Young Wood; grandchildren and twins, Zane and Zoe Wood; first cousin, Thede Harris who is 100 years old; Thede’s daughter Susie Green, and her children Sundi Lofty and Paul Taylor, Johnathan Green; brother-in-law, Albert G. Wood, 104 years old; and other in-laws, Harold D. Young Esq., Carolyn Syphax-Young, Mark D. Young Esq. and Kinga Young, Dillon and Olivia Young; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, in-laws and sorority sisters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and grand puppies, Bella and Stella Wood.

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Lorraine McDowell Wood

June 14, 1924 - March 31, 2024