Carolyn O’Brien Wood

Ms. Carolyn Ruth O’Brien Wood, age 93, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at the Park Manor Nursing Home in Tomball, Texas.  She was born to the late Benson Gladstone (B. G.) and Mary Hassell O’Brien on July 22, 1932 in South Norfolk, Virginia. 

Growing up she moved with her family frequently to many rural communities in North Carolina, with her father being a high school Agriculture teacher, before settling in Pilot Mountain.  Although she received her diploma from another high school, she always considered herself a part of the Pilot Mountain High School Class of 1950 where she attended three of her four years.  She then attended The Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro (now UNCG) where she graduated in 1953.  She married Homer Troy Wood of Copeland in 1953 and the family resided in Pilot Mountain.

She was active in the community by being a member of the Pilot Mountain Women’s Club. One of her most memorable experiences was being a volunteer in the Red Stocking Review production.  She loved watching her sons play sports, especially basketball, at East Surry High School.  The family attended the First United Methodist Church of Pilot Mountain.

Carolyn loved the beach, and realized her dream of living at the beach when she moved to Surfside Beach, South Carolina. There she worked in sales for over 25 years selling furniture, real estate, and working at the Thomas Kincaid art gallery and Illusions Replica Jewels.  She enjoyed meeting and talking to the many people she encountered in her jobs at the beach.  She also loved to travel by car and frequently drove her little Camry through the South visiting friends and family and on many other adventures.

In her later years, she moved to the Spring, Texas area where she was known as The Flamingo Girl and Bingo Queen at her residences.

She is survived by her three sons, Gregory T. Wood and his devoted partner Karen Bradshaw of Destrehan, Louisiana, Bryan J. Wood and his wife Toni of Spring, Texas and Sidney G. Wood and his devoted partner Lisa Golding of Pilot Mountain; four grandchildren, Greg Wood Jr. (mother Janice Norris Wood), Katelyn Wood, Mahlon and Elisabeth "Ellis" Wood (mother Cindy Faulkenberry Wood).  She is also survived by her “like a sister” cousin Margie Hope of Sun City Center, Florida; as well as many cousins and dear friends.

The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the care teams at Park Manor Nursing Home and Southern Knights Assisted Living, both in Tomball, Texas, for their dedicated compassion and care.

Visitation with the family will be at Cox-Needham Funeral Home in Pilot Mountain on Saturday, November 22nd, from 12-2pm.  A memorial service will immediately follow at the funeral home with Pastor Jeremy Pegram of the First United Methodist Church officiating.  Carolyn's urn will be interred in a private ceremony at a later date, at the Pilot Mountain City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions be made to a charity of your choice.

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