Obituary

Reverend Patricia C. Wood, 74 years young, passed away after a brief illness on January 31, 2025, at her home in Folsom, California. Her husband, sons, and brother- in-law were at her side. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, April 26, at 11 a.m. Reverend Melanie Weiner from Skyland Church will lead the service, with a reception following, at First Congregational Church of San Jose, 1980 Hamilton Avenue in San Jose. In lieu of flowers, Patricia requested that memorials be directed to Skyland Community Church, P.O. Box 245, Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245.

You can donate electronically at Skyland Church Memorial Giving (https://secure. myvanco.com/YKMJ/campaign/C-13EQ5). All donations will go to the many ministries at Skyland Church that Patricia and Brian have supported. Patricia was born January 10, 1951, in Stockton, to Henry and Alice McMurry, who lived in Lathrop, California. She was the oldest of seven children. She attended East Union High School in Manteca, worked on the yearbook in her last three years of school, and was active in clubs before graduating in 1969. She attended San Jose State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in literature and fine art. She wanted to be an English teacher, but the job market in 1973 wasn’t cooperating, so she got a temporary, then permanent job at Signetics Semiconductor in Silicon Valley.

She married Joseph Sacco in 1972, during her college days. After college, they raised their sons Anthony and David. Patricia enrolled in a technician-training program at work. She was promoted to engineer, and later supervisor, during her many years there. She was active in union organizing during the ’70s, and was later a member of the Society of Women Engineers.

She married Brian Wood in 1992, whom she met at work. She loved sharing her knowledge with others. Her five grandchildren treasured their time with her. Her infectious smile and kind heart will always be with us. She enjoyed teaching the “grands,” as she called them, how to make Christmas table decorations, sock puppets, and quilts. She showed them how to fix a broken ear on a stuffed bear, bake, garden, make tie-dye T-shirts, and bead wristbands.

She took them on nature walks, played board games, juiced lemons, read them their favorite books, and taught them to paint and draw. Patricia and Brian were active members of Skyland Church, which was near their home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. One day, one of the elders asked Patricia, “have you thought about going to seminary?” In 2007, Patricia enrolled in the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. She earned her master’s degree in divinity in 2010. One year later, she saw a need to help people in our local mountain community. She founded the volunteer non-profit group, Mountain Neighbors Helping Neighbors. The organization helps neighbors in need. They provide rides to and from medical and dental appointments, change batteries in smoke alarms, and provide other basic household tasks. They can provide information about services in the area that are beyond their charter.

In 2014, Patricia was ordained into ministry in the United Church of Christ. She served the Santa Cruz Mountain community as the founder and leader of Mountain Neighbors Helping Neighbors until she retired in 2024. Donations to the group went to the Skyland Church Giving Tree Ministry, that helps families and children from local mountain schools during the Christmas season. She was an interfaith spiritual- care visitor to the residential El Camino Rehabilitation Care Facility in Los Gatos.

Patricia, Brian, and the boys enjoyed many family vacations and camping trips in Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Hawaii, and Alaska. Patricia and Brian also traveled to France, Italy, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Norway, London, Scotland, Thailand, Korea, Canada, Mexico, and the Canadian Rockies, their favorite and last trip.

Patricia loved books and always had several library books within reach. She was also an avid gardener. She enjoyed picking out flowers, vegetables, fruit, and citrus trees, leaving the planting and drip irrigation to Brian. He built many redwood vegetable boxes that continue to provide a colorful backyard garden of tomatoes, sweet peppers, dill, cabbage, eggplant, nectarines, persimmons, apples, apricots, lemons, limes, and oranges.

Patricia learned to knit, crochet, sew, bake, and can from her mother. She won several blue ribbons in the Santa Cruz County Fair and a trophy for Senior Home Arts in Preserved Foods. Her favorite hobbies were photography and water-color painting.

Patricia’s survivors include her husband Brian, sons Anthony (Stacey) Sacco and David (Monique) Sacco of Folsom, and grandchildren Michael, Emma, Natalie, Camille, Elizabeth, and Joseph. She is also survived by sisters Mary Page, Toni Haines, Karen (Paul) Ross, brother Joe (Lori) McMurry, brother-in-law Paul C. Wood, and many nieces, nephews, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, and sisters Jan McMurry and Kathy McMurry.