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Kathleen (Kay) Grace Wood (Christie)
Sept. 12, 1919 - Nov. 15, 2015

Kathleen Wood, known to her family and friends as “Kay”, passed away peacefully at Hillview Manor in Estevan on November 15, 2015, two months and three days after her 96th birthday.

Kay was born on Sept 12, 1919 at the family farm near MacNutt, Saskatchewan. Her parents, James and Ada Christie, had immigrated to Canada from Scotland and Ireland respectively. Growing up in the years of the Great Depression was difficult, but Kay always remembered her childhood years and her family with great fondness.

Kay left home in 1938 to begin nurses training at the Brandon Mental Hospital. Further training followed at the Ontario Hospital of New Toronto, good preparation for the 42 year career which followed. In 1946 she returned to Manitoba to work at the Brandon Mental Hospital.

On Valentine’s Day 1947 Kay met her husband to be, Harold Wood, a young soldier stationed at nearby Camp Shilo. They were married on September 4, 1948 in Brandon but resided in Shilo. Life in the military meant lots of transfers: a short stint at Camp Borden in Ontario, back to Shilo, and then to Winnipeg. Two children, Ted and Jean, were born in this period. She was a dedicated mother and gave her children the guidance, support and love they needed growing up.

In 1956, they left the military life and moved to a more stable life in Yorkton, where Harold had grown up. Kay began nursing at the Yorkton Auxiliary (the old airport) Hospital. In 1960 she did a year of study at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in preparations for two new responsibilities in Yorkton: as Superintendent of Nursing at the new Psychiatric Centre and as Director of the School of Nursing. In 1966 she became director of nursing for the Yorkton Union Hospital, a position she held until her retirement in 1981. Upon retirement Kay was given an Honorary Life Membership in the Saskatchewan Nurses Association.

In 1973 Kay and Harold moved to a farm a few miles west of Yorkton. Both enjoyed returning to the life of childhood. Kay was very involved especially with a large garden and a little nursing (now with ailing cattle). Her greatest joy was to welcome her young grandchildren, Jenny and Geoff. They retired from active faming in 1983 but after a short stint back in Yorkton they moved back out to the peace and quiet of farm life, and spent the winters in Arizona.

In 1997 they moved back into Yorkton for life in a condo. Harold passed away shortly thereafter leaving Kay to spend ten years in the condo made especially enjoyable by a wonderful group of friends. After spending 52 years in Yorkton she moved to Estevan in 2008 and took up residence at Hillview Manor, just a few minutes away from her daughter Jean and son-in-law Dennis.

Kay was known as a practical and competent person who was able to get things done. For many years she was active at St. Andrew’s United Church and with the Rebekah’s in Yorkton. She had an excellent memory and enjoyed telling stories about her family and past. These qualities served her well in several tasks of love she took on in retirement – writing a history of the Yorkton Union Hospital, histories of the Wood and Christie families, and her own life story.

She enjoyed family gatherings like those at the cottage at York Lake or with friends to play bridge. In later years she was able to travel. Her favourite trips were to Ireland and Scotland where she was finally able to meet aunts and cousins she had known about all her life. She enjoyed reading, knitting, crossword puzzles, baking, and a game of canasta. Above all she was devoted to her family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Kay was predeceased by her husband, Harold; her parents, James and Ada (Nicholson) Christie; two brothers, George and Gerald Christie; and a sister, Eva Jory. She is survived by her son, Ted (Nancy) of Winnipeg and daughter, Jean (Dennis) Bode of Estevan; by grandchildren, Jennifer Bode of Victoria and Geoff (Twyla) Bode of Saskatoon and by five great grandchildren, Kendra (Sergio) González of San Antonio, Texas, Eric Gusikoski of Victoria, and Emerson, Eleanor, and Estella Bode of Saskatoon; by sisters-in-law, Dorothy Wood of Foam Lake and Lucille Kotzer of Yorkton and by numerous nieces and nephews.

Kay’s family is grateful to Eunice Massett and the staff at Hillview Manor, Dr. Charles Omosigho, and the staff of St. Joseph’s Hospital for the care they provided in her last years.

A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at Christie's Funeral Home & Crematorium, 121 Palliser Way, Yorkton, SK.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Yorkton Union Hospital (The Health Foundation of East Central Saskatchewan Inc., 41 Betts Avenue, Yorkton, SK, S3N 1M1) in Kay's memory.

Arrangements are entrusted to Hall Funeral Services, Estevan and Christie's Funeral Home & Crematorium, Yorkton.