Terry Frank Wood
August 16, 1946 — November 16, 2014
Terry Franklin Wood, 68, went on to be with our Lord on November 16, 2014. Terry passed forward peacefully at home on his ranch in Decatur.
Family will receive friends and loved ones from 6 – 8 pm Wednesday, November 19, at the First Baptist Church in Decatur. Funeral service is at 2 pm on Thursday, November 20, at the First Baptist Church in Decatur, with burial following at the East Side Cemetery in Bridgeport. Pastor Ken May will officiate and will be assisted by Berl Pedigo and Mike Wheat.
Pallbearers include Mike Wheat, Carey Williams, David West, Jeff Horn, Asa Johnson, Robert Baker, Clay Ellerbee, and Gary Cooper.
Terry was born August 16, 1946 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Bennie Ray and Bennie Wayne Johnson Wood. Terry shared a birthday with his Mother, which has been a joy for her. He was welcomed into this world by his brother Walter and they’ve spent their lives virtually inseparable and the closest of friends. Terry graduated from Decatur High School in 1964 and went on to play basketball at Sam Houston State University. He served in the military during Vietnam, in the Army. He was awarded the Purple Heart and was honorably discharged.
Terry came home from Vietnam to join his Dad, Walter and Uncle James Wood in the car business at Bennie Wood Motors in Fort Worth. He married Jane Winder in 1966 and was blessed with a son, Terry Kenton (TK) in 1971. Terry went on to open his own business, Terry’s Motors, in Fort Worth and spent many years turning that into a successful operation. Later, his grown son TK proudly followed in his Grandfather’s and Father’s shoes, by joining Terry’s Motors in 1992. Terry has long been considered the industry standard as a wholesale and auto dealer.
In 1998, Terry built a home on the family ranch in Decatur, and went full speed ahead pursuing his life long passion – the horse racing industry. Terry married the love of his life and his best friend, Patricia Burks (Trish), in 2001. While Trish held down the home front, Terry went on to become a renowned quarter horse breeder. He bred horses such as Andthebeatgoeson, A Stone Runaway, Illegally Special, Winninginthebuff, Dasher Winner, and On The Map. Most of those are descendants of Cautious Winner, who was one of the premier quarter horse dams of her generation. These horses won or qualified for such big races as the Ruidoso, WestTexas, and All American Futurities, as well as the Ruidoso, Rainbow, and All American Derbies. These horses were and continue to be at the forefront of the industry. Terry went on to breed pedigreed quarter horses over the next 15 years building and enforcing his racing name with the same integrity that he lent to life. Only in the last years, with his health declining, Terry scaled back with Wood Racing, keeping only his younger stock at the ranch. This did not mean Terry slowed down; quite the opposite, he began breeding Charolais cattle on the ranch with the same zest and passion that he put into his horses and at last count had some 60 head of the prettiest white cows and calves grazing on those green pastures. Terry Wood lived and breathed “livestock.” He was as much at home in a barn or pasture as he was driving in his truck, lazing by the fireplace watching football, playing cards at the trailer with his buddies, or wetting a crappie hook at the ranch lake.
Business aside, Terry was an avid sportsman, card player and horseman in the true sense of those words, tackling each of those endeavors as seriously as he did his car business, with knowledge and honesty. Terry’s word was his word. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said, you could count on that. Terry was the literal definition of, “Integrity; the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.”
Terry loved his family beyond anything else in his life. He loved his wife Trish, his Mom, his brother and his son and their families. The light of his life, were his grandchildren, who’s various activities filled his days. He attended ballgames regularly and many times when he really should have been at home sitting in his recliner you would find Terry in the stands or on the bleachers rooting for his boys come rain or shine. His largest form of entertainment was to gather the entire family for the holidays. The more the merrier! If one face was missing, he took it to heart. Terry found contentment with his large and loving family close by his side. Birthdays called for cake and balloons, Easter called for an egg hunt, Thanksgiving was all about the turkey and literally, being Thankful, and Christmas promised a visit from Santa Claus and gifts galore. Being in the Wood household for any one of these magical events meant going home with love and a deep sense of family in your heart.
Terry was a large man, with an even larger personality. His value in life lay in giving as much as he could give each day, working as hard as he could work, loving as hard as he could love, being as good of a friend to all. He pursued every moment of life with a passion and strength that was enviable. Those of us that were lucky to be close to Terry and feel the warmth of his shadow fall on us, will walk with the knowledge that he took life in his stride, in his own time, in his own way and he is at peace with his Lord and Savior. We will see him again and live our lives better having known and loved this fine and true man.
Terry was preceded in death by his infant brother Bennie Ray Wood, Jr.; his Father, Bennie Ray Wood; and Aunt and Uncle, Lorene and Wayne Garrett. He is survived by his wife, Patricia of Decatur; his son, Terry Kenton Wood, and wife Amber, of North Richland Hills; his Mother, Bennie Wayne Johnson Wood of Haltom City; his brother, Walter Ray Wood, and wife Cindy and their daughter Ali of Kirkland, WA. Terry is survived by four grandsons; Landry and Riley Wood, and Tanner and Kale Burks. Terry is also survived by Patricia’s sons Mark Burks and wife Teresa of Decatur and Michael Burks and wife Shari of Haslet. Numerous Aunts, Uncles and cousins, nieces, and nephews and a host of friends also survive Terry.
Further, Terry will be missed by the entire family of employees of James Wood Motors.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the charity of choice.
Coker-Hawkins Funeral Home, Decatur, Texas 940-627-5959