Gema Marion Wood, 95, passed away Jan. 10 at her home in Lompoc, CA.

The daughter of Felice Bergamo and Angela Bacca Bergamo Simon, she was born January 18, 1918 in Rock Springs, WY. Her father died before she was born, and she grew up with her stepfather Angelo Simon. Gema graduated from Rock Springs High School. She moved to Cheyenne, WY with her sister Linda in about 1938. She was a stay at home Mom and then had a 25 year working career, starting in 1955 as a clerk in Cheyenne at McCormick Junior High, then with the School Administration Offices and then beginning in 1968, as a stock transfer clerk with Wells Fargo Bank in Denver, CO, retiring back to Cheyenne in 1980. She moved to Lompoc, CA in 2011.

Gema was a member of the Order of Eastern Star, Mizpah Chapter No. 36, and the Daughters of the Nile, Tamah Temple No. 73.

She met the love of her life, Joe Frank Wood, in high school and they were married in Cheyenne in 1940 and celebrated their 70th Anniversary in May 2010.

Gema is survived by her son James Wood and wife Sharon, of Lompoc, CA and step-granddaughters Pamela Forrester, Paula Hardee, and Polly Forsythe, as well as seven step-great-grandchildren and seven step-great-great-grandchildren; and by son-in-law Douglas Atkins of Las Vegas, NV, granddaughter Jennifer Dalton and husband Arrol Kile, great-granddaughter Lacy Dalton, and a great-great-grandson; and by several nieces and nephews and their families.

She was preceded in death by her husband Joe, daughter Judith Wood Atkins, grandson Jeffrey Atkins, and sisters Amelia Bott, Linda Krow, and Alice Carollo.

Gema's cremains will be interred in Cheyenne Lakeview Cemetery at a later date to be determined, possibly on May 9, 2014.

Those who wish may make a commemorative gift in memory of Gema M. Wood to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, using a downloadable form from their website at the following URL: http://support.shrinershospitals.org/site/DocServer/Internet_form_1108.pdf?docID=481