Charles Clark Wood, 92, passed away peacefully at 5 Acres Board and Care facility in Vacaville, on Father's Day, June 15, 2025. He was surrounded by his large, extended family in the hours, days, weeks, months, and years leading up to his passing.  Charles resided in the Care facility for nearly two years, where he received excellent care on beautiful grounds.

Charles was born on September 3, 1932 to Rose and Charles Bernard Wood of Santa Maria, California.  The family later moved to Oakland, California, where as a young teenager and an industrious earner, Charles set up a shoe shine station in downtown Oakland, so he could shine the shoes of military personnel in exchange for pocket money.  Shortly after that, while in high school, he worked for the Oakland Tribune, where he was placed in charge of managing a group of boys responsible for delivering the daily newspapers.

He attended and graduated from Oakland Technical High School, where he met a lovely girl, a year younger than he, with a beautiful smile and winning ways. Her name was Dolores and they fell in love.

After graduating from high school, Charles enlisted in the U.S. Marines Corp to fight in the Korean War.  Charles and Dolores wrote to each other faithfully during his enlistment period and when he returned to Oakland after his service ended, Charles and Dolores were married and brought five children into the world.  In the early days of their marriage, Charles worked as a milkman for Berkeley Farms Dairy and P.G.E., until he found his life's calling as a police officer for the City of Alameda.

Charles rose through the ranks of the Alameda Police Department, becoming a sergeant and later a lieutenant, when in the mid 1970's, he was assigned as the Project Manager for the building of a new police station for the city.  To this day, there is a plaque on the building paying tribute to his contributions.

After twenty-five years of service to the Alameda Police Department and raising their five children, Charles retired at age fifty, at which time he and Dolores moved to Red Bluff, California, where they bought a house and a small walnut orchard.  They lived happily there, surrounded by nature, for fourteen years.

After leaving Red Bluff, the couple moved to Vacaville so they could be closer to family and healthcare.  They thoroughly enjoyed living together in Vacaville until his dear wife Dolores passed away a few years later.  After Dolores' passing, Charles met a woman named Virginia (Ginny), through mutual friends.  They courted for some months and married.  They were married for 20 years and enjoyed taking cruises and RV trips together.

Charles fiercely loved his family and is remembered for his quick wit and love of nature, particularly the wild birds who visited his garden, as he always ensured they had plenty to eat and a fountain to bathe in.  He will be dearly missed.

Charles is pre-deceased by his lovely youngest daughter, Robin Kempel, and is survived by his daughter Shelley Stelzner, son Gregory Wood, daughter Charlene Reavis, daughter Debra Thomas, 11 grand-children and 10 great grand-children

A Memorial Service for Charles Wood will be on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 12:00 P.M. at Vaca Hills Chapel Funeral Home; 524 Elmira Road, Vacaville, CA 95687.

Interment to be followed at the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery; 522 Elmira Road, Vacaville, CA 95687.