Kenneth R. Wood

Kenneth R. Wood, Sr, age 83 of Yuma, Arizona passed away on August 30, 2022, at his home in Yuma. Kenneth was born on October 5, 1938, in Tacoma, Washington. After high school, Kenneth began his military service in the National Guard in 1957, completing one year of service. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1958 serving four years on the East Coast. The last four years of his eight-year naval career was on the USS Ticonderoga. In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, he earned Good Conduct Medals, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Vietnam). He was Honorably Discharged in 1966. From 1967 to 1978, he was a San Diego Firefighter with the City of San Diego. In 1979, he elected a new career in the Commercial Fire Protection Industry joining Local Union 669. Concurrently, he served as a volunteer Reserve Police Officer for the El Cajon Police Department, and later transferring to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department as a Sergeant for a combined 15 years of serving his community. In 1961, Kenneth and Carmelinda Rosamilia were married after meeting in the US Navy where both were stationed in Philadelphia. Kenneth is survived by his wife of 61 years, Carmelinda (Lynn) Wood; son, Kenneth R. Wood, Jr. and wife, Lisa (Bianco); daughter, Maria (Wood) and husband, Marko Garcia; grandsons Kenneth Wood, III, David Wood, RJ McCullough, and wife Elivia (Freeman), and granddaughter Alyssa Garcia; great granddaughter Kaiya Wood and great grandson, Cyrus Wood. He is survived by two brothers, Gary Wood and wife, Kris of Prescott, AZ; and, David Wood of Manhattan Beach, CA. Services for family and close friends will be held on Friday, October 7, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. at Aztlan Mortuary in La Mesa, CA. Burial with full military honors will follow at Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego. The family invites all friends to join a Celebration of Life at a private residence at 12pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Tunnel to Towers Foundation https://t2t.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/In-Memory-of-Online-Form_Interactive-Online-Form.pdf in Memory of Kenneth who felt very strongly about assisting disabled veterans and first responders

Kenneth R. Wood

October 5, 1938 - August 30, 2022