Obituary of Stephen Allen Wood

Stephen Allen Wood, 71, of Armonk, New York passed away this past Monday, September 8th, 2014 following a courageous battle with cancer. He was a passionate entrepreneur, colleague, friend, husband, father and family member, well known for decades as a leader in the health insurance industry. Steve was born September 20, 1942 in North Adams, Massachusetts where he attended Drury High School graduating in 1960. He proudly served in the US Coast Guard for four years and graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1971 with a degree in history. He completed post-graduate work at Arizona State University. Following 7 years in life insurance sales, he founded an employee benefits administration company in 1978 in Phoenix, Arizona that eventually became one of the most respected and nationally recognized firms of its kind. He served for over 20 years on the board of directors of the Sun Angel Foundation, a philanthropic organization benefiting Arizona State University including a term as its Chairman. Hard work, good friends, good food and wine, family activities…. He enjoyed it all! Steve was a life-long skier, golfer and sports enthusiast, especially when following his beloved Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Sun Devils. Steve is survived by his wife, Paulina Wood, their son Daniel Wood and his step-daughter Sophia; his mother Gladys Wood; his sister Judy Embry; his three children Scott Wood, Christy Wood and Karrie Muller and their mother Lorraine Wood; and his grandchildren Garrett, Grady, Griffin, Keilee, Ashton and Kathan. As well as his niece Margaret Smith from Wilmington, Delaware and nephew Peter Trowill of Lenox, Massachusetts. The family will be holding a small, private service for friends and family in Mount Kisco, New York on Saturday September 13th and a memorial celebrating his life will be planned in Phoenix in the coming weeks. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation (CBTF), Team Alicia, a cause very close to our family. You can access the CBTF website through this link: http://tinyurl.com/nklcp4y