Patrick D. Wood

WOOD, Patrick D. Patrick D. Wood, 23, of Pomfret Center, beloved younger son of Robert P. Wood and Marie Lisette Rimer of that town passed away in Berlin, Germany on Friday (February 3, 2006). At the time of his death he was employed as an intern by Siemens, A.G., a German engineering firm, following his graduation, with distinction in mathematics from Stanford University in June 2005. While at Stanford he also worked on the student newspaper, as a math tutor and as a teaching assistant in linguistics. Pat was awarded a Krupp internship at the Bavarian Motor Works in Munich after his junior year spring term at the Stanford School in Berlin. Upon graduating first in class from Pomfret Community School in 1997, where his abilities were recognized and encouraged from an early age, Pat was awarded the four-year Peck Scholarship to Pomfret School. A distinguished scholar and musician, he was the recipient of numerous scholastic awards and honors from the School, including again graduating first in class in 2001, and membership in the Cum Laude Association. He was awarded the top English Student Prize in his graduating class, and he received the Harvard Book and Bausch and Lomb Science Awards, as well as Book Awards in AP Calculus, history III AP, English AP and French IV. As an underclassman, Pat received Book Awards in French II and III, Honors History I and II, geometry, Honors Algebra II and English. Other academic achievements included being named a National Merit Scholar, one of 7,900 of over one million applicants nationwide. Pat received the prestigious Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship administered by the Connecticut Department of Higher Education in 2001, and recognition by The College Board as an AP Scholar. He scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT's prior to being accepted by Stanford. Pat was a member of Pomfret School's crew, cross country, squash, and lacrosse teams while there. Pat began studying the piano locally at the age of five as a student of Ann Warde of Dayville, before advancing to study music theory, duet and chamber music at the well-known Longy School in Cambridge, MA, where he received the Excellence in Theory Award and the preparatory studies certificate. He then studied with Kathleen Sadoff of Brooklyn, winner of the Julliard Concerto Competition and at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford under the guidance of Margreet Francis, chair of the Piano Department. In 1998, 2000 and 2001 he won the Audrey Thayer Award of the Connecticut State Music Teachers Association, a state-wide competition in which top young pianists in Connecticut participated. Pat also attended the summer music program run by Boston University at the Tanglewood Institute in Lenox, MA during his high school years. He studied with Marie Clodes Jaguaribe and was a top performer in chamber music and solo recitals there. Later, he grew to enjoy the works of the German composer Richard Wagner as a result of his piano studies, as well as many other facets of German cultural, intellectual and social life. Pat especially valued Stanford's University Program in Berlin. His family and many friends remember him as a generous, modest and humorous young man who was prized for his company, his wit, his talents, his passion for learning, and his many caring acts. Pat is survived by his twin sister, Elizabeth Wood of Burlington, VT; and his older brother, Colin Wood of Tacoma, WA. Pat's maternal grandfather, Dr. David Rimer and his wife, Anne of Santa Monica, CA survive, as does his uncle John Wood of Windham, and his uncle and aunt James Wood and his wife, Allison of Lisbon. Other surviving family include uncles and aunts Douglas and Alice Rimer and Thomas and Bonnie Rimer of California; as well as numerous cousins and extended family members throughout Connecticut and the United States. Pat was predeceased by his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Antoinette G. Logan McGinley of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and by Mr. Robert H. Wood and Mrs. Genevieve McShea Wood of Windham. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, February 20, at 2 p.m. at The Pomfret School Chapel, 398 Pomfret Street, Pomfret, CT. Burial will be in South Cemetery, Pomfret, CT. Calling hours will be held at The Tillinghast Funeral Home, 433 Main Street, Danielson, CT on Sunday from 5-8 p.m. Gifts may be made in Patrick's memory to: Pomfret School, P.O. Box 128, 398 Pomfret Street, Pomfret, CT 06258-0128 or to The Stanford University Center, Pacelliallee 18/20, Berlin, Germany 14195. We are made poorer by his absence. May he rest in peace.