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Marjorie Mae (Stearns) Wood, a long-time resident of Prineville, died Saturday,
June 11 at age 100, at the home of her daughter Rosalee, her loving care-giver for
the past eight years.
She was born Dec. 19, 1915, at Mercy Hospital, Webster City, Iowa, to William Bradford
Stearns and Grace Elizabeth Teal. She was raised on her parent’s farm near town.
As a teenager, she raised her siblings and cared for her mother while her mom was
ill with cancer. Her mother died in 1934. Marjorie graduated from Lincoln High and
Junior College in Webster City. She graduated from Mounds Midway School of Nursing
in Minneapolis, Minn., in 1938 and worked as a nurse in Iowa, San Francisco, California
and Prineville.
Marjorie married her high school sweetheart, Dr. Elon Lee Wood, Dec. 19, 1938, in
Berkley, Calif. They moved to Prineville in 1939, where Dr. Wood practiced medicine
for 41 years.
Marjorie was the oldest member of the Prineville First Baptist Church, having been
a member for 77 years. She loved serving her church, was a strong Christian witness
and known for hosting visiting missionaries. Marjorie was a member of PEO, Etudier
Book Club and the Crook County Historical Society.
In 1958-1959, the entire family traveled in a Volkswagen bus from Norway through
Europe, and down through Africa to Cape Town. As a young wife, Marjorie accompanied
her husband up many a mountain and, after retirement, on trips around the globe.
A summer was spent serving at a mission hospital in Borneo and a year working at
a mission hospital in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) with Prineville nurse Linda Sharp.
Left to cherish her memory are her brother, William Edward Stearns, and wife, Eloise,
of Webster City, Iowa; sisters-in-law Doris and Dorothy Stearns of Webster City;
Marjorie’s children, Elaine and husband, Vance Tinseth, of Salem; Elon Lee and wife,
Ginger Wood, of Idaho Falls, Idaho; Drs. Janice and husband, Dave Anderson, of Prineville;
Lora and husband, Mick Borden, of Prineville; Don Wood, of Prineville; Rosalee and
husband, Tom Wilson, of Prineville; 15 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; and
numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Dr. Elon Lee Wood; brothers
John Waldo Stearns, Frank William Stearns and Ralph Laurence Stearns; sister, Fannie
Elizabeth Stearns Peters; and grandson, Michael Wayne Borden.
Interment was at Juniper Haven Memorial Cemetery June 15. A memorial service will
be held at a future date.
Arrangements are being handled by the Juniper Ridge Funeral Home, Prineville.
In Marge's memory, the family suggests visiting a shut-in, taking a meal to someone
in need, writing an encouraging note, helping a student, giving a listening ear
and prayer
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