Mrs. Betty Sparrow Wood, 94, went to be home with her Lord and Savior from her Temperanceville home Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, surrounded by loving family members. Born June 29, 1925, in Silva, Va., she was a daughter of the late Leon and Dessie Culp Sparrow.
She and her late husband, John William “Bill” Wood, owned and operated an Exxon Service Station in Temperanceville for most of their married life. They were married May 31, 1968, and had 39 years of beautiful marriage prior to his death April 8, 2007. She and her first husband, Ronald Hugh Goleman Sr., were married for 25 years prior to his death. Mrs. Wood became a Virginia magistrate in 1978. She was appointed as chief magistrate of Accomack and Northampton Counties in 1989 and served in that position until her retirement, at the age of 80, Jan. 1, 2006. She and Bill were both active members of the Atlantic Baptist Church in Atlantic.
Mrs. Wood is survived by two daughters, Dessie Ruth (John) Bertch, of Indiana, and Margaret Ann (Randy) Polski, of Baltimore, Md.; two sons, Gene Lee (Bettye) Goleman and Walton Lee (Donna) Goleman, all of Temperanceville; Bill’s daughter, whom she treated as her own, Tammy Sue (Pastor Joseph LeCates) LeCates; 13 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; 7 great-great-grandchildren; and many extended family members that she also loved dearly.
In addition to her parents and two husbands, Mrs. Wood was preceded in death by two sons, Ronnie H. Goleman and Jesse James Goleman; her two brothers; and three sisters.
A funeral service officiated by the Rev. Maury Enright, the Rev. Richard Inman and Pastor Joe LeCates was held Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019, in the Atlantic Baptist Church in Atlantic. Interment followed in the First Baptist Church Cemetery in Pocomoke City, Md.
If desired, contributions may be made to Atlantic Baptist Church, 10084 Atlantic Road, Atlantic, VA 23303 or Riverside Shore Hospice, P.O. Box 616, Onley, VA 23418
Arrangements were made by Holloway Funeral Home, P.A., 107 Vine Street, Pocomoke City, MD 21851. To send condolences to the family, please visit www.hollowayfh.com.
