Eulogy for Dr. Harold W. Wood, D.V.M., my father.

My long-time friend Paul Grant sent me this message when he learned that my father had passed away:

"I really admired your Dad's enthusiasm for life and travel and for maintaining strong interests in so many things. I will look to him as an example."

My Dad was indeed an inspirational example for all of us. His positive outlook on life shows us all how life should be lived. There were three things he treasured the most: Nature, Education, and Travel.

I remember as a small boy Dad taking me on camping and fishing trips. Whether we were exploring a rushing stream in the mountains, or listening to the desert breezes and bird songs while the sun set over a parched desert landscape, my Dad taught me to pay attention to Nature.

The appreciation for Education was another big influence my Dad and my mother both gave me. My Dad wrote in one of his stories:

"I gained more practical knowledge from the speaker at my high school graduation ceremony than I did during the prior four years of high school. He urged us to continue our education by enrolling in a school of higher learning... He pointed out the advantages of college educated people. He instilled a fire in me that has never ceased burning -- a fire for lifelong learning."

When I was growing up, there was never a question whether we were going to college or even graduate school; the only question was "which" graduate school! I don't think I realized how important getting an education really was to my Dad until I learned many years later of his leaving the family farm in Oklahoma to pursue an education. He walked from the farm to the famous Route 66. He stuck his thumb out to the west when a vehicle was traveling that direction, and his thumb out to the east when a vehicle was going that way. He was willing to go either direction, because for him either direction led to leaving the farm and gaining an education. Even though I didn't know this story until a few years ago, my Dad gave me the same love for life-long learning that he had.

Travel was the other big inspiration from my father. My Dad wrote:

"Early in my childhood days I had a deep desire to travel. I wanted to go to Far Away Places. It seemed to me purely unwise to spend large sums of money for short luxury trips to London, Paris, or any far away place. I dreamed of travelling for two or three year trips. I wanted varied sights. I wanted to acquaint myself with different people and their cultures."

I learned only a few years ago that a big part of the inspiration for him leaving his boyhood home in Oklahoma was seeing a picture of Mt. Hood in his seventh-grade geography book. He vowed to move out West to see such wonders of Nature.

That is why he headed in the direction of Oregon once he was able to leave the family farm. But he didn't stop there. He soon found the beauties of Nature could be found all over the West, and eventually the world. When I was in Fourth Grade, he found a way to travel the world without having to become a multi-millionaire jet-setter! By getting a job in India for two years, he allowed the whole family to begin global travels. The knowledge I gained from that experience of living in India has given me a global perspective and appreciation. This perspective was further enhanced when Dad made it possible for me to go on the World Campus Afloat program in college. This just goes to show how travel, education, and nature are really all combined. Dad never stopped traveling, never stopped learning, never stopped appreciating Nature.

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