BARBARA JEAN WOOD

June 04, 1925 – December 03, 2025

Barbara Jean Wood, Age 100, of Newberg, Oregon, passed away on December 03, 2025, in the comfort of her home at Friendsview Retirement Community.

Barbara was born near Westfield, Indiana, the fourth of five children and the daughter of Everett Goins (1882-1963) and Lola Pearl (Parr) Goins (1892-1947). Barbara’s early years included time on the farm where she was born, a few years in Zionsville, Indiana, and a return to Westfield where her father established a barbershop.

Barbara graduated from Westfield High School in 1942.  As a Westfield student she enjoyed cheerleading and was active in band and orchestra, playing multiple instruments, including trumpet, violin, bass violin, and piano.

Barbara Jean Goins married O. Eugene (Gene) Wood on July 24, 1943, at the Westfield Friends Church prior to his deployment in World War II. After the war, she and Gene reared three sons, Dennis, Steven, and Stanley. Barbara and Gene were a team, enjoyed relating as equals in their marriage, and shared responsibilities with little regard for common gender-specific roles.  Most of their child-rearing years were spent in Marion, Indiana, where they were active members of South Marion Friends Church.

Barbara was among few women in the 1950s and 1960s to own her own car, which afforded her freedom to be out and about in church and community activities.  She was employed by Marsh grocery in the early 1960s and then found remarkable success presenting and selling “hope-chest” items one-on-one to young single women. In the late 60s she worked for State Life Insurance Company, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Gene and Barbara moved from Indianapolis to St. Petersburg Florida, in 1971, embracing life in the sun and creating some of their happiest memories.    In Florida, they continued as a team, purchasing and managing rental properties. After moving to Florida, they became a presenting couple for Christian Marriage Encounter Retreats and served as leaders of couples’ groups for that organization. They were active in various churches throughout their lives.

In her fifties, Barbara completed training at a community college in St. Petersburg, Fl, becoming a licensed practical nurse. Working through a nurses’ registry, she provided home health care and companionship to elderly patients until she retired. 

In 1995, seeking a quieter life in a smaller community, Barbara and Gene purchased a condominium, sold their home and rentals in St. Petersburg, and moved to Port Charlotte, Florida.  After several years in that community, they embarked upon a new adventure, moving in 2003 to Friendsview Retirement Community in Newberg, Oregon.  Barbara valued her Quaker heritage and felt that, in some respects, her move to Newberg was a return to her family roots. 

Throughout her life Barbara sustained close ties with friends from her earliest days and maintained many relationships made during adult life.

Upon her engagement, Barbara’s father warned Gene that he, as her future husband, would be, “getting a spitfire.”  Barbara lived up to the characterization, becoming an inspiration to many and well known as a fisty, can-do, industrious, entrepreneurial woman, who was not easily dissuaded. When her mind was made up, there was no stopping her. 

Barbara is survived by two sons, Steven (and Donna) Wood of Vancouver, WA, Stanley (and Debbie) Wood (Wilmington, NC), five grandchildren (Bradley Wood, Kathryn Benson, Jill Wood, Tish Joyner, Ryan Wood), five great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and her brother-in-law, Richard Buskirk (Newberg, OR).  She was preceded in death by both her husband, Gene, in 2010, and her son, Dennis (Zionsville, IN), in 2021.

A private memorial time is being planned.