Patricia A. Wood

Patricia Ann Alexander Wood, B.A. ’54, passed away on Oct. 27, 2025. A woman of uncommon grace, beauty and strength, she lived a life devoted to faith, family and service.  

Wood was born in Alvin, TX, on April 3, 1934, the ninth of 10 children to Charles and Helen Alexander. She graduated from Alvin High School and attended Baylor University, where she was named a Baylor Beauty. She carried a special grace throughout her years, becoming known not only for her outer beauty but for her warmth, faith and steadfast spirit. She was very proud that her two children and two grandsons became the third and fourth generations of Alexanders to become Baylor Bears. 

Wood married her Baylor college sweetheart and soulmate, John A. Wood, B.A. ’53, on Aug. 3, 1954, and began a 67-year partnership in Christian ministry that began in Kentucky and continued in Texas and throughout five continents. Together they pastored three churches in Kentucky before returning to Waco to pastor the First Baptist Church. 

After retiring from church service, John and Pat established John Wood Ministries and built some of the first Christian churches in Russia and Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. For their work saving countless lives through training Ukrainian surgeons in Waco for off-pump heart bypass surgery, they received the Ukraine President’s Merit Award, the highest award given in Ukraine to foreign citizens. President Victor Yushchenko personally thanked Dr. and Mrs. Wood by visiting their home in Waco in 2012. 

Wood was not only a pastor’s wife — she was a true partner in the gospel, teaching, mentoring and nurturing others with grace. Her home in Waco, decorated with treasures from their travels, was always open to her church and Baylor family, as well as friends and neighbors. She loved to welcome guests, often hosting missionaries or organizing church gatherings. Wood’s hospitality reflected her faith and heart for people. Serving food, including her homemade rolls and desserts, was her love language. Her talents were also reflected in the beautiful needlepoint items she lovingly created to share with family and friends. 

While Wood spent a lifetime loving her neighbors, her family was blessed to know her love daily. She was as loving a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother as anyone could ever have.