Ernest Clifton Wood, 84, died Saturday, October 15, 1977, at Veterans Administration Hospital in Wichita. Born March 11, 1893, at Longwood, Mo., he married Leone Powell in 1914 at Wichita. He was a retired restaurant operator.

He was a member of the Christian church, Wilmore.

Survivors include his widow; son, Donald, Houston, Texas; brothers, Harold, Wilmore, and Basil, Medicine Lodge; two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 1977, at the Hatfield-Prusa Funeral Home, Coldwater with Gib Clark officiating. Burial was in the Wilmore cemetery.

---

The Western Star, October 27, 1977.

Services for Ernest C. Wood

Funeral services were held October 18th at the Hatfield-Prusa mortuary for Ernest (Ert) Wood, who passed away October 15, 1977 at the Veterans Hospital in Wichita with Rev. Gib Clark officiating. Organist was Ernestine Zeigler.

Pallbearers were Bruce Wedel, Dwight Unruh, Lester Fry, Jr., E. L. Gordon, Mike Unruh, and August Metzger. Burial was in the Wilmore Cemetery.

Obituary.

Ernest Clifton Wood was born in Longwood, Mo., March 11, 1893. He was the son of Anna Mae McDaniel Wood and Clifton Wood. He was 84 years old. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, John Prowell, in 1966, and a sister, Barbara, who died in infancy.

Ert, as he was known, at an early age came with his parents and two brothers to Comanche and Kiowa counties where he lived until the time of his death with the exception of some time spent in Denver and Grandlake, Colo. He spent some time in World War I. He was reported as missing in action, then later reported killed in action. Still later, it was discovered that he had been captured and was alive in a German prison.

He was a prisoner of war for two years until the war's end when he was released.

Ert was married to Leone Powell Wood in May of 1914. She now resides in San Antonio, Texas. They had one son, Donald Ira Wood, of Houston, Texas.

As long as Ert's health permitted, he took much interest in raising flowers and gardening. He was a lover of nature. For several years he operated the Wilmore Cafe until his health failed. Then he resided in Valley Manor in Protection for two years.

His survivors include his son, Donald, two brothers, Harold of Wilmore and Samuel Basil of Medicine Lodge, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren, and a host of other relatives and friends.

We are going down the valley one by one
When the labors of the weary day are done
One by one the cares of earth forever past
We shall stand upon the river bank at last.
We are going down the valley,
Going tow'rd the settling of the sun
We are going down the valley one by one.

Attend Funeral From Out-of-Town

Relatives and friends out of town who attended the funeral services for Ernest Wood were Donald Wood and son, David, Houston, Texas; Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wood, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Baker and Eulah Trummel of Wilmore; Christine Heintz, Coldwater; Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Basil Wood, and Mrs. Ivan Hadley, Medicine Lodge.

Mrs. Nancy Zimmerman, Blanche Roetker, and Elva Carter of Protection; Mr. and Mrs. John Wright, Belvidere; Mr. and Mrs. Edward Woody and family of Pratt; and Ernest R. Brown of Houston, Texas.

---

Also see:

Clifton & Anna Mae (McDaniel) Wood. parents of Ernest Clifton Wood.

The Great Army Draft Has Been Made. Comanche County's Honor Roll. The Western Star, July 27, 1917.   Ernest Wood's Comanche County draft number was 126; he was the 9th of the first 200 men from the county to be drafted.

Among Our Boys, The Western Star, December 6, 1918: "The report which was current in this city last week that Ernest Wood had died somewhere in France has no confirmation. In fact, there is very little to warrant the belief that the report is correct. The relatives here have received word from the authorities in Washington that, as far as information had so far been received the prisoners held by the Germans in Fastaff had not been released. There is yet a good chance that Ernest, who was reported by the Red Cross to be a prisoner in Camp Fastaff, will in due time be released and be returned safely to his command and that, eventually, he will return home all right. Such, at least, is the sincere hope of all of Ernest's friends here."

Blevins Brothers Recognized by Ernest Wood in Wilmore Cafe, Then Are Captured Near Medicine Lodge,
The Western Star, September 20, 1946.

A Reunion of Former Residents of Wilmore, Comanche County, Kansas, held 10 March 1991 in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona.
Family History Interview with Gertrude (Fisher) Cobb, Mary Lee (Cobb) Hough, Gladys (Rose) Wood, Bob Wood, Karen (Healen) Hammel, Alice (Norton) Ferrin Wilson and Janet (Ferrin) Elmore by Jerry D. Ferrin.

Report of the Wilmore Church of Christ, August 23, 1953.

Dedication of the Wilmore Christian Church, March 15, 1913

---

I was acquainted with Ert Wood when I lived in the Wilmore community; at the time he still lived in the back of the Wilmore Cafe building, though the cafe was no longer open for business. He did, however, keep a refrigerator full of soda pop which he'd sell on request. Behind the counter of the cafe he'd tacked a collection of postcards that must have numbered in the thousands. I recall Ert as walking with a limp and of having been told by him that it came from him having been machine gunned in World War I. I also recall having been shown a round scar on one of his arms which he said was from a bullet wound. He had a few "french postcards" from his time in France which boys my age (about 11 years old) would ask to be shown; in connection with those, I recall him telling of having spent time in Paris after his release from a German POW camp before he was repatriated to the USA, and of how "man-hungry" French women were at the time: many French men had been killed in the war and there weren't many men in Paris when he was there. Ert had a lot of stories to tell, and I particularly remember one he told about someone I knew as a respected man in the community from the time when this man had been a young teenager. It was absolutely scandalous as well as hilarious, which is probably why it still sticks in my mind. -- Jerry Ferrin, 30 Dec 2005.

---

Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!