Billie “Joann” Wood of Denton, TX was welcomed into heaven on March 1, 2021. She passed over peacefully surrounded by family at her daughter’s house in Carrollton, TX.
Joann was born February 12, 1954 in Bonne Terre, MO to Helen “Billie” Slinkard and Carnell Simmons. She was the youngest of four with two older brothers and an older sister who lovingly picked on her growing up as older siblings tend to do. Joann was raised in the Church of the Nazarene and maintained a strong faith throughout her lifetime.
Joann graduated from Central HS in Flat River, MO class of ’72. Then attended Southeast Missouri State University where she met her husband Dennis Wood who she later married (1976). Dennis and Joann settled in Argyle, TX where they raised their two children. They divorced in 2004 but remained friends.
Joann found her true calling in life as a nurse in the 90’s. While raising her two young children, she went back to college to obtain her nursing degrees: associate degree from Cooke County College (1993) and bachelor’s from the University of Texas at Arlington (1997). She spent her nursing career in women’s services working with moms and babies and further specialized as a lactation consultant in the later part of her career.
In 2007, Joann bought her cute little lake house on Bull Shoals Lake where she spent many long weekends with her extended family and friends fishing, water skiing, kayaking, swimming, frying fish with her famous hushpuppies, and making large helpings of her famous breakfast burritos.
On February 15, 2014 Joann met Tom Manly. What started out as mutual respect and admiration soon grew into a wonderful friendship, followed by true love. Tom was quick to point out that Joann was the kindest, most caring, honest, patient (she had to be to put up with Tom) person he had ever met.
Joann loved music, the outdoors, her flowers, and traveling. She was blessed throughout her lifetime to have gone to many concerts and take numerous trips. One such trip of a lifetime was in 2017. She and Tom toured the western US on Tom’s motorcycle. They visited such places as, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Red Lodge, and Flaming Gorge.
Joann was preceded in death by her parents, her older brother Gene Simmons, her nephew Ben Webb, and her ex-husband Dennis Wood.
She is survived by her two children Amanda and Nathan Wood, fiancé Tom Manly, brother Jim Simmons and wife Joyce, sister Helen Webb and husband Pete, four nieces (Kelly Simmons, April Shaw, Andi McWilliams, Krista Joslin), nephew Tracy Simmons, five grandnieces, two grandnephews, two great grandnieces, and one great grandnephew.
An informal memorial service will be held at Gateway Funerals & Cremation in Dallas, TX on Thursday March 11th at 2pm. A full celebration of life service will be held at the lake later this summer (details TBD).
Memorial donations may be made to Mother’s Milk Bank of North Texas or the National Park Foundation.
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