Sally Anne Carrie Wood was passionate about family, friends, and food. She was born on December 28, 1958, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Helen Poulsen Wood and Bill Wood, who both preceded her in death. For the last five years of her life, Helen lived with Sally in Madison.
Sally died in Marshfield Hospital on June 22, 2024, after a short illness. She was a life-long resident of Wisconsin, preferred small town life and relished the view of the Wisconsin River from her second-floor apartment in Stevens Point.
Sally graduated from Kenosha’s Bradford High School and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She was on her high school volleyball and swim teams. She earned a master’s degree in folklife and folklore from Western Kentucky University. She worked as a curator of interpretation and education at three Wisconsin state historical sites: Old World Wisconsin, Villa Louis and Wade House. Sally was a historical researcher at American Girl, Inc., and a library technician at the Middleton Public Library. She made life-long friends at each job. Sally found purpose and joy in libraries from the time she could read. She began volunteering in school libraries in fifth grade. She reread many favorite books including The Little House on the Prairie series. She delighted in connecting children to books they would love.
Sally was a competitive game player. She would crush her opponents in Scrabble. She taught her nieces and nephews to play Solitaire with cards and was a merciless opponent. She shared her daily Wordle scores with close friends and her sister. She enjoyed time with family at Jackson’s Lakeside Cottages and at her brother and sister-in-law’s cottage on Blueberry Lake. She was an accomplished crappie fisherwoman and was known for her “snackle” box. She enjoyed knitting dish cloths and gifting them to relatives and friends. Sally listened to Wisconsin Public Radio and Bill and Bobbie Malone on Madison’s WORT. A favorite pastime was going out to eat, including meeting cousins for lunch once a month. She became a Brewers fan this year and enjoyed listening to Bob Uecker announce games on the radio. She had a great eye for finds and bargains during her mother’s and her frequent second-hand store shopping ventures. Sally enjoyed living with dogs (Fawn, Elsie, Zoe and Maude) and cats (Ida, William, Kraemer, Henry and Lucy).
Sally knew a lot about food, food ways and cooking. She enjoyed watching cooking programs and cooking for family and friends. She co-produced the podcast “Cooking with the Wood Sisters,” where she shared favorite recipes, for over 3 years. The sisters previously collaborated on the podcast “Kathryn’s Kitchen.” Some of Sally’s shared recipes came from “Recipes from the Heart,” a cookbook of family recipes that she collected.
She is survived by her sister Kathryn (Michael Funke), brothers Peter (Candace Hansen Wood), Patrick (Lisa Pogorzelski Wood), and Daniel; their children Katharine, Carmen, Niki Albridge, Kyle, Brian and Miranda Wozniak; eight great nieces and nephews; several cousins and many friends.
Her family is grateful for the compassionate care she received at Marshfield Hospital and especially thank Chaplains Ed and Renata, Dr. Khan, Dr. Shaukat and her nurses.
Sally was a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, sister-in-law and friend. She is dearly missed.
A private event honoring her will be held at a later date. Consider making a donation to a favorite non-profit organization or library in her name.
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