Renee Marie Wood, 72, of Idaho Falls, passed away November 17, 2020, at Idaho Falls Community Hospital. 

Renee was born on October 5, 1948, in Spring Valley, Illinois, to Arthur “Chip” and Shirley Data. She is the second oldest of eight siblings, which is where her life-long passion of taking care of others began. She was a cheerleader, maintained a 4.0, and was an Honor Student. This is not surprising as she was the smartest lady we knew! She grew up in Illinois and graduated from Lockport West High School. She moved to Idaho in 1974 where she made her home with her beloved daughters. She missed Illinois greatly as her heart was always torn between her family there and her home in Idaho. She spent a great deal of time caring for many other children at her in-home daycare so she could be home for her girls. She took office management classes at Eastern Idaho Technical College. She was also an Administrator at Valley Living Center. Most of her skills were self-taught as she was very hard-working and dedicated to whatever she put her mind to. 

Renee worked as Office Manager at the Good Samaritan Society for more than 18 years. She loved caring for people, and her compassion was evident in how hard she worked every day and the kindness and empathy she showed both the employees and the residents. With as many hours as Renee spent at work, her coworkers turned into family and became some of her dearest friends. 

When she wasn’t working, Renee enjoyed reading, taking care of and feeding all the stray animals, including a runaway rooster she named, “Banty.” She loved  watching crime and horror shows and spending time with her family, especially the grandbabies. She loved to play the slots, and the tournaments were her most favorite pastime. She even placed first several times. She knew every Elvis and ABBA song by heart. Summer was her favorite season and she’d spend every free moment “playing” in her flowers. Her flowers and working in her lawn were two of her most favorite things to do to relax. She liked her steak as rare as she could get it and enjoyed soft red wine. She hated mornings, but could make it once she was fueled by her daily intake of coffee. She wasn’t a fan of having her picture taken, which you would never know as we did it anyhow. She used to joke that we were as bad as the Paparazzi. Her smile was contagious and her laugh was infectious. 

Renee is survived and missed dearly by her four daughters, Paula (Ramey), Shelly (Richard), Jenny (Rob), and Sarah; eight grandchildren, five great grandchildren, with one more on the way; seven siblings; and her cherished cat, Miss Kitty. 

There is not a person that met our mother who did not have a story to tell about the encounter. She was an inspiration to others because of her positive outlook, gentle words of encouragement, and the desire for others to be their best. She always reminded us to be thankful for everything and to have hope when all seems lost. “Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” We love you MOST, Mama. 

A special thank you to the ICU staff and respiratory therapists at Idaho Falls Community Hospital, and especially Dr. Miller, for the care that you gave our mother in her last weeks of life. We also thank all of the employees at Good Samaritan, past and present.

Memorial Services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 28, 2020, at Wood Funeral Home East Side, 963 S. Ammon Road, with a visitation for family and friends from 1-1:45 p.m. prior.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Idaho Falls Animal Shelter TNR program. You can send a check or call and donate over phone.

Mail a check to: 
Idaho Falls Animal Shelter 
2450 Hemmert Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 
Write the check out to IFAS and in the memo, TNR program. 
Or call 208-612-8670 to make a donation over the phone.