Annalee Wood Obituary (1946

TO WATCH THE WEBCAST, PLEASE CLICK ON THE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS TAB. IF YOU ARE ON A CELL PHONE, SCROLL DOWN. Annalee Greenwood Wood September 23, 1946 - August 29, 2020 Annalee (Ann) was born in the small town of Gunnison, Utah on September 23, 1946. Her parents, Margaret LuRae (LuRae) and Rex Boyd (Boyd) Greenwood, were so thrilled to have a second daughter join their little family. Big sister Margaret was two, and she and Ann became fast friends and playmates. Early years were spent in Nephi, Utah, Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia while Boyd was pursuing his dental and orthodontic schooling. Rex and Robin were born during these years and the family eventually settled in Orem, Utah when Boyd opened an orthodontic practice in Provo. These were happy times and Ann loved going to the Scera pool and park and getting ice cream in the summertime. Lynn was born a few years later to complete the Greenwood family. Ann attended her early years of school in Nephi and Atlanta, then beginning in 6th grade she attended Hillcrest Elementary, Lincoln Junior High and then Orem High School. Starting in sixth grade, Ann had started playing tennis and she loved it. During high school, Ann participated in cheerleading, tennis, gymnastics, student government and Junior Miss. She and Margaret were tennis partners and would travel to tournaments together all over the mountain west. They also competed in gymnastics and won many awards and trophies in both sports. Ann loved being an Orem Tiger and she had a zest for life, thoroughly enjoying her studies, friends, sports and activities. After high school Ann attended Brigham Young University and studied nursing. At BYU she was a member of the International Folk Dancers and also the tennis and gymnastics teams. Occasionally she would also fill in as an extra swimmer on the swim team. In the early part of 1967 Ann was introduced to a handsome young man on the BYU golf team named Donald Wood (Don). Although their first date was a bit of a disaster with Don smashing Ann into the snow on a sledding run, their love was not to be deterred. They spent wonderful moments together whenever they could sneak some time in between their busy schedules. With Ann working in Salt Lake to finish her nursing requirements and Don golfing and going to school in Provo, it was a challenge but they made it work. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 9, 1967. They began their adventures together right away, as they were bumped off their flight by a group of soldiers headed to Vietnam, and spent their honeymoon night in the airport. Early married life was a whirlwind with Ann finishing her RN degree and starting work as a nurse. Wendy was born in late1968 and brought so much joy to her parents. Not too long after, Jennifer joined the family while they were living in Indianapolis for a short period. The family returned to Provo where Don received his BA in English from BYU and then completed his MBA. David was born during this time and the little Wood family was soon ready to move on to other adventures. Don took a job in southern California and so off they went to a new home in Westminster. Ann worked the night shift at the hospital to help make ends meet, which made for some very long, tired days with little sleep. Michael and Alison were born in California and the Wood family was complete. Don and Ann found so much joy in their children and lived every day cherishing the time together. After several wonderful years in California the Wood family moved again, this time to Houston, Texas. The hot, humid weather was a challenge sometimes but it did not compare to the fire ants. Ann discovered she was severely allergic to fire ants after she was bitten one day and her hands, face, eyes and throat swelled up. In typical Ann fashion, she called the ER, grabbed a bottle of Benadryl and drank it as she drove herself to the hospital. The kids were growing up and getting involved in sports, so one day, while Don was out of town on a business trip, she signed him up as the coach of Wendy and Jen’s soccer team. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but he loved it nonetheless! He ended up being a coach for many years to come, and Ann became a superfan and cheerleader for all the kids. Ann’s life changed dramatically when the family was offered an opportunity to move to Sao Paolo, Brazil. She had 5 fairly young children and didn’t speak a word of Portuguese, but she didn’t hesitate. She seemed to be fearless as she navigated her way through the adventures and difficulties of living in a foreign country. She started learning Portuguese right away, drove herself around a city of 15 million people, shopped at the “feira,” the open market, and supported all the children and a busy husband. Somehow she found time to coach the cheerleading team at the international school where some of the kids attended, volunteered as a leader for the Girl Scout troop, and fulfilled a church assignment. There were amazingly fun times like the trips to the beach in Santos, and attending professional soccer games, but there were also scary and difficult times, and she handled them with tremendous courage and strength. Sometime during the last year in Brazil, Ann started to experience strange symptoms of double vision and numbness in her arms and legs. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong, and the decision was made to return to the US. The family moved to Sandy, Utah and Ann was able to get expert care at a local medical center. After a few weeks of tests she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It was devastating. This remarkably active woman knew that her body would never be the same, and that her active years were numbered. There were definitely some days of tears and frustration, but she resolved early on to face this disease with courage and determination. She decided to live her life to its fullest and take advantage of every minute she had available to her. The Woods spent most of the 1980’s in Sandy, Utah and then moved to Mesa, Arizona. These years were filled with so many church activities, sports, music & theater performances, student government elections, family trips and much more. The kids had so much going on that they were rarely together at dinnertime. Ann started a tradition of getting up early to make sure they had a good breakfast together. One favorite breakfast item was muffins, so they dubbed her their “Muffin Mommy.” Her support and encouragement during these years was immeasurable. She was at every event, cheering everyone on as loudly as she could and wrapping her arms around them no matter the outcome. She was always their #1 fan. Eventually all the children grew up and got married, but that just began a new chapter of love and support for in-laws and grandchildren. In 2001 Ann lost her sweetheart, Don, at the young age of 55. The two of them had always talked about serving a church mission together so she decided to fulfil that dream and went to serve in Boston, Massachusetts. She absolutely loved being a missionary and it was exciting to see a whole new side of her open up. When she returned home she dedicated herself to family history work and record indexing, and became one of the top 1% of genealogical indexers in the entire church. She blessed countless people through these efforts and found great fulfillment in this work as her mobility began to decline. Unfortunately, over time she struggled with the use of her hands and arms also. She kept up her work as long as she could, using one finger to type while she was indexing. Ann’s life was a testament to strength, service, compassion and faith. She was only 5 feet tall, but was a giant in so many ways. She loved to help people and was a friend and honorary mom and grandma to many lucky people that crossed her path. She found great joy in sharing her financial means, giving encouragement, and just noticing someone who needed some extra love. Ann definitely bled blue and found immense joy in watching the BYU Cougars compete in any sport - especially football and volleyball. She would yell at the TV and was a hoot on the family gameday group text. She even sang part of the Cougar fight song just days before she passed. Ann wasn’t much of a fancy cook but really liked going out to eat with everyone. She looked forward to her lunch groups and special dinners, and took every opportunity to celebrate special occasions. She also loved chocolate milkshakes, popcorn and hot chocolate more than anyone on earth. It is fitting that her last meal was chocolate ice cream - for breakfast. She was blessed to live with Wendy’s family for the last 12 years of her life. They loved her, and helped her, and took wonderful care of her. She was truly their Mom-Grandma. Little by little MS took its toll, and her health declined rapidly this year after some falls. Her final weeks were spent with Alison and her family, as they nursed her and gently guided her in her preparation for her “graduation” to the next life. She gained her angel wings early in the morning of August 29, 2020, and joined Don, who had been waiting for 19 years. What a sweet reunion that must have been! She will be missed more than words can say, but her family is filled with joy as they envision her running, leaping and dancing through heaven with a huge smile on her face. Ann is survived by her siblings, Margaret Blake (Karl), Rex Greenwood (Verna), Robin Norton (Brent), Lynn Greenwood (Kristin); her children, Wendy Bird, Jennifer Stinson (Jeff), David Wood (Roxanna), Michael Wood (Lori), Alison Johnson (Chris); 19 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A private funeral service will be held at Nelson Family Mortuary on Saturday, September 12, 2020 followed by interment in the Orem City Cemetery. A live webcast will be available starting at 1:00 p.m. at https://www.nelsonmortuary.com/. A recording of the service will also be available later at that website.