“A wonderful colleague, a great teacher and a professor who cared for and was respected by his students.”

These are the words Charles Link, Bank of America Professor of Business at the University of Delaware, chose to best describe the career of former colleague Edwin T. Wood, UD professor of economics.

Wood, a long-time resident of Cokesbury Village in Hockessin, Delaware, passed away there on March 23 at the age of 96.

Born in Boise, Idaho, Prof. Wood spent his early years in central California. He graduated from Harvard College in 1947 after serving with the Eighth Air Force, leaving the service as a captain. During his post-war stint at Harvard, he met Katharine (Kay) McKnight, whom he married in May 1947.

After a brief introduction to commercial banking in New York City, Prof. Wood and his wife moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where he was employed by Bond, Crown and Cork, a division of Continental Can Co. His tenure with Continental Can took him from Wilmington to Santa Ana, California, back to Wilmington and finally to Continental Can's corporate headquarters in New York. In 1960 he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to take a position with Milprint Inc.

In 1967, Prof. Wood left the industrial community for academia. He spent three years at the University of Wisconsin doing graduate work in economics. In 1970 he began lecturing in economics at the University of Delaware and retired in 1990.

Prof. Wood was predeceased by his wife, who died in March 2012, and by a son, Steven E. Wood, who died in December 2012. His is survived by his daughter, Cynthia W. Wood of Concord, Massachusetts; a son, Peter M. Wood of Black Earth, Wisconsin; four granddaughters; a great-grandson; and by his special friend Jane Kipp.

Memorial contributions honoring Prof. Wood may be made to Cokesbury Village Residents' Association, 726 Loveville Rd., Hockessin, DE 19707. For online condolences, visit Chandler Funeral Home’s website.