Jane Frances Morris Wood
August 19, 1937 — December 2, 2024
Grapevine
Jane Frances was born in
the city by the bay, San Francisco, California, in 1937. Her birth came just a
few months after another extraordinary event, the opening of the Golden Gate
Bridge. Thus, Jane’s life was destined to be golden, filled with great moments
of courage, heart, and inspiration.
In her early years,
Jane’s family, along with sisters Mary, Nadine, and brother Michael, relocated
back to Kansas where she spent most of her childhood at a small town outside of
Wichita called Kingman. Their lives revolved around family, farm life, and St.
Patrick’s Catholic Church. Jane was greatly influenced by her Aunt Catherine
who had a taste for the finer things in life, inspiring her passion for cooking
and interior design. For Jane’s senior year of high school, she was sent to St.
Mary of the Plains boarding school in Kansas City, where she got her first
taste of freedom, a room of her own, and the nomination of homecoming queen.
After graduating
high school, Jane became an X-ray technician, which funded her travels and
adventures as a young woman. She moved out to Dover, Delaware, to be near her
sister Nadine. Here, she shared a house with friends, hanging out on Rehoboth Beach,
dancing at the Bottle & Cork, having parties with Air Force guys. Thus, it
was this fateful time that she would come into acquaintance with a young pilot
and Air Force Academy graduate, Vern Wood. On a ski trip to the Poconos, Jane’s
fate was sealed when she locked eyes with Vern who drove up in his Jaguar
Roadster with another lady. It was love at first sight.
Jane and Vern dated
frequently after that, and rumor has it, Jane pushed his girlfriend off the
X-ray table when she came in for an exam. No really, it was an accident. After
several months of courtship and parties at the Bottle & Cork, Jane and Vern
got married at the Air Force Base among friends and family in their finest
military apparel. Jane’s sisters, Nadine and Mary, who were very dear to her,
were there for the event. Later their first-born son and child prodigy Patrick
Wood was born, and they started the adventure of family life.
Vern got a job with
Trans World Airlines (TWA) based out of San Francisco, so they hitched the
sailboat to the car, threw their belongings in the boat, and drove out to
California to begin their new life in the wild, wild west. They dodged a
snowstorm at Donner Pass, as they drove over the Sierra Nevadas and rented a
house in the East Bay Area town of Pleasanton. Shortly thereafter, Vern was
furloughed from TWA, so he signed back up with the Air Force to fly on reserve
from Travis Air Force Base. It wasn’t soon after that their daughter Heather
was born.
In the early 70s, Vern
and Jane moved to Vacaville, where they hung out with their pilot friends and
wives, creating a small community there. Jane’s entrepreneurial spirit was
sparked at that time, and she decided to open a store in town. A precursor to the
Williams Sonoma concept, JJ Gourmet was part interior design showroom/part
culinary nexus. Here, Jane channeled her passion for cooking, selling
Cuisinarts, Kitchen Aid mixers, and Calphalon pans. She loved going to San
Francisco to the Merchandise Mart to buy products for the store. She sold Krups
coffee makers, kitchen gadgets, and knives by Chicago cutlery. She held cooking
classes with early culinary giants like Biba Caggiano and David Berkeley.
Italian cooking, Cooking for Kids, and Asian Cooking were some of the classes
offered.
Jane’s heroes were
Katherine Hepburn and Julia Child. In 1978, she met Julia Child at a weekend
cooking seminar on the coast of Northern California called “Cookery at the
Cove.” She spent the weekend making Coq Au Vin and Beef Bourguignon with Paul
and Julia, drinking wine and sharing stories. Jane had all of Julia’s cookbooks
and her library of cookbooks is something to behold. The Joy of Cooking, The
Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, and San Francisco A la Carte (by the
Junior League of San Francisco) were a few of her favorites. To prepare a meal,
she would look up a recipe in one book, then find it in two others, ultimately
combining the best of all three. Throughout her life, Jane brought this
meticulousness to the home, infusing it with love and a passion for detail.
Meanwhile, Vern was
hired by Western Airlines and was flying the friendly skis all over the place.
He had a mustache, a Pontiac Grand Prix, and sold turquoise jewelry from a
portable jewelry box at random on layovers. Eventually, Jane and Vern decided
to move up to Sacramento, where they found a family of friends in the Sierra
Oaks neighborhood, forging lifelong friendships centered around schools,
sports, and sunshine. Vern started buying distressed properties and flipping
rentals in his spare time. Everything could be improved with a fresh coat of
paint and some caulking in the bathroom. It was during this time that Pat and
Heather cleaned a million paintbrushes.
Jane sold JJ Gourmet a
few years after arriving in Sacramento and managed all the paperwork of the
rental houses, as well as kept everyone fed, clothed, and educated while Vern
was away. This was no small feat as it was before the digital era. Jane made sure
everyone was outfitted in the latest fashions, took the kids to sporting
events, held birthday parties. She cooked and cleaned and did it all with
strength and detail.
Jane made every holiday
special, setting the dining room table with fine linens and china that Vern
brought back from Japan. Her Thanksgiving dinners were amazing, even if they
were served on the late side. No one could make gravy quite like Jane. Her fresh
cranberry relish was a hit with chopped apples, orange zest, and fresh blended
cranberries. There would be no clumping cranberry from a can for this lady.
Jane’s signature appetizer was a sherry baked brie that made friends out of
enemies. Her molded guacamole and pistachio cheese wafers were also a hit. One
Christmas she made Cioppino, out of every fish in the sea. On St. Patrick’s
Day, corned beef and cabbage were an annual tradition. On these holidays, Vern
would wear his “kiss me, I’m Irish” shirt, even though he only married into the
clan.
During the 1980s, when
she wasn’t cooking great dishes for the family, Jane tolerated teenage angst,
smoked Marlboro Lights, and drove the family up to Tahoe in a Datsun B210
hatchback. She participated in the Lycra revolution by joining a Jazzercise class
on J Street in downtown Sacramento. She took the kids to the Newman Center at
Sac State where they sang Kumbaya with the college congregation. She took Pat
and Heather to international food festivals and rented a VCR player, so they
could watch Jaws and ET. She signed Pat up for the Jesuit Fashion Show, which
was a high point in his fashion history. She drove the kids to soccer,
baseball, and swim team meets. She drove the kids to Tahoe Donner on the
weekends, so they could compete on the ski team.
Jane had a passion for
bridge, which she played frequently with friends in the area. She also loved
musicals and Broadway shows. She took her sister, Mary, and Pat’s wife,
Danielle, to see the Radio City Rockettes, as well as bought season tickets to
the Music Circus when the kids were young. She loved to travel, taking frequent
visits to Ohio, New York, and Georgia to visit her sisters. In 2009, she took
Heather to see 9 to 5 on Broadway, starring Allison Janney. During that trip,
Jane insisted on dining at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain. Jane left no stone
unturned in seeking out the finer aspects of life.
When the kids went away
to college, Jane joined the Assistance League and participated in charity
events in Sacramento. In the mid 1990s, Jane and Vern moved to the DFW area,
where Vern took over the helm of Captain on the Delta 767s flying to South America.
During this time, Jane joined Mid-Cities Supporters of the Shelter in the
Colleyville/Grapevine Area, where she became heavily involved in fundraising
for The Women’s Shelter, providing support for victims of domestic violence.
When Jane joined the organization in 1995, Mid-Cities SOS was struggling with
membership. She started some new fundraisers and breathed new life into old
ones, re-energizing SOS, forging new friendships around giving, service, and
concern for women’s rights.
Jane served SOS in many
capacities. Her service was recognized in 1999 when she was presented with the
Shining Star Award by then Senator Jane Nelson (now serving as Texas Secretary
of State). She was also SOS President from 2000-2001, dedicating herself to
sponsorship for a host of large events including the Annual Tennis Benefit at
Southlake Tennis Center, the Poinsettia Sale, Art of the Table, and Celebrity
Chefs. Jane worked tirelessly behind the scenes on many committees and was
continually fundraising, hosting a martini party at her home, which was the
talk of the town, getting press in the local newspaper for its wide variety of
‘tinis, including the Apple Tini, The Cosmopolitan, the Chocolate Espresso
Martini, and the Lemon Drop Martini. When shopping with Jane around town, she
would ask every business owner whether they would like to sponsor an event for
SOS. She was never afraid to ask for a sponsorship or donation. She solicited
sponsorships from Central Market, American Airlines, the Bank of Texas, and
numerous small businesses in the area.
Jane’s extensive charity
work underscores the endless generosity, heart, and service that so many of us
knew firsthand. Throughout the years, she raised hundreds of thousands of
dollars to support women and children needing shelter from violent relationships.
Through her outreach, she met several high-profile individuals including Tamryn
Hall, Erin Brockovich, and Kristen Chenowith. She actively recruited members
throughout the community, inspired them and mentored them to take leading roles
in SOS. In essence, she was and is the heart and soul of Mid-Cities SOS. For
those reasons, we ask for you to make a small donation in Jane’s honor to the
organization at Mid-Cities Supporters of the Shelter.
Jane was predeceased by
her parents Margaret Heatherman Morris and Dean Morris; her brother Michael;
her sister Nadine, brother-in-law Lt. Col. Bill Thornton, and nephew Michael
Thornton. She is survived by her husband, Vern Wood, of 55 years, her son Patrick
Wood, her daughter-in-law Danielle Gonzales-Wood, her daughter Heather Wood,
and their families, including Genesis and Andrea Gonzales of Redding and Santa
Rosa, California, respectively, and Hannah, Piper, and Stella Wood of North
Richland Hills, Texas.
She is also survived by
her sister Mary Paramoure, brother-in-law Rod Paramoure of Marietta, Georgia,
and her cousins Peg and Jim Frieden of Hurst, Texas. She is survived by her
nieces and nephews Bill, Tracy, Veronica, and Gabrielle Thornton of Springfield,
Ohio; Christine Thornton, and Peyton and Jacob Mance of Red Hook, New York;
Guin Paramoure Patrick and Olivia Patrick of Atlanta, Georgia; and Dwight,
Noelle, Julia, and Haley Paramoure of Marietta, Georgia.
Jane was an active
member of Mid-Cities Supporters of the Shelter, The Jesuit Fund, and the
Kimball Museum, Fort Worth. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to
Mid-Cities Supporters of the Shelter.
Jane’s Funeral Mass will
be held January 18, 2025, at 11:30 AM. St. Michael Catholic Church, 3713 E.
Harwood Road, Bedford, TX, 76021.
“A cook is only as good
as their ingredients.” —Jane Wood
