Sylvia Jean Wood

Published 6:37 pm Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Sylvia Jean Wood was born on Nov. 3, 1938 and departed this world in peace on March 10, when she was gladly greeted by her Lord. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, George William Tate and Hattie Hall Tate; her siblings: Charles, George, Thomas, Harold and James; her first husband, Thomas Daugherty, and her second husband, Randolph Wood.  

She is survived by her brother, Harry Tate; her daughters: Laura French, Sharon Rudnick and Wanda Robertson; two sons-in-law: Mark French and Greg Rudnick; five grandchildren: Andrew, Evan, and Sydney French, Hattie Rudnick Forystek and Erin Robertson, and six great-grandchildren: Catherine, Theodore, Gabriel, Wren, Zoe and Nash French. Additionally, she cherished a close relationship with her niece, Sandra Berchtold and nephew, Randy Tate.  

Sylvia was born in Longview, Kentucky and later moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where she raised her family with her husband, Tom. 

She was a dedicated member of Tunnel Hill Baptist Church and served as their pianist for many years.  

In 1986, Sylvia moved to Richmond with her second husband, Randolph, where they lived only an hour away from her eldest daughter, Laura, and enjoyed such benefits as attending various grandchildren’s recitals, graduations and birthdays, as well as regularly hosting all three of her daughters and their families.  

After Randolph’s passing in 2013, she found a new roommate in her grandson Evan from 2014 until his marriage in 2015. Over the course of her life, Sylvia’s hobbies included many activities such as working in her flowerbeds, square-dancing, making potato candy, singing hymns and beating her grandkids at Uno. She also enjoyed keeping her family on their toes with the occasional and uncharacteristic sassy comment.

Sylvia walked her path through life with love and fortitude, aided by her abiding faith. She

instilled and nurtured these same traits in her daughters and continued to serve as a steadfast example through all the seasons of her life. Sylvia inspired a profound dedication in her family, whether she was embodying the role of Mom, Aunt, Grandma, Mammaw, or Grams and while she will be deeply missed, her family rejoices that she has found her way home.  

The funeral service was held in Elizabethtown, Kentucky on Monday, March 17.