William E. Hood III, 74, of Bradenton, FL passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 17, 2015 after battling pancreatic cancer for nearly three years.
He was born in Toledo, Ohio on September 21, 1941. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Judith Ann (Devine) Hood of Bradenton, FL; son, William (Cheryl Raskind) Hood IV of Atlanta, GA; three daughters: Kimberly (Amer) Suffi of Kuwait, Robin (Amer) Saba of Kuwait, and Jennifer (Thomas) Bolton of Panama City Beach, FL; three brothers: Jim of Arizona, Tom of Alabama, and John of North Carolina; sister, Mary Risteen of Cocoa Beach, FL; eleven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. It is a remarkable testimony to his legacy that all four of his children remain happily married to their original spouses.
During his career, he served in the Navy and was initially stationed in Cyprus. He studied Arabic at the Foreign Language Institute in Monterey California, and linguistics at Durham University in England. Upon leaving the U.S. Navy he was recruited by the NSA and worked to safeguard our country in over a dozen foreign locales for nearly 40 years. He served in U.S. embassies abroad in Cyprus, Morocco, twice in Kuwait where he opened a new station office in the new embassy, Jordan, Egypt, and Argentina. He also had temporary postings in such danger zones as Beirut, Lebanon, during the height of the civil war, Vladivostok, Russia, and in Cyprus during the civil war. After retiring from the civil service, he served as a contractor for the U.S. government and served in Iraq and Kuwait during the Gulf War conflict.
He enjoyed solving crossword puzzles, reading espionage novels, police and political thrillers, fishing, golfing, as well as making homemade wine, ice cream and bread. He adored his grandchildren and he enjoyed listening to smooth jazz, country music, Bob Seger, and political news. Most importantly, he instilled a strong foundation of faith, openness and tolerance in his 4 children, which is evidenced by the diversity of cultures and religions among our extended loving family, i.e., various Christian denominations such as Greek Orthodox and Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam. He exhibited a level of the highest integrity that was an exceptional example to many.
A Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 26th at St. Frances Cabrini Church, 12001 69th Street East, Parrish, FL 34219. Interment with military honors will be presented at 10:00 AM on Monday, December 28th at Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State Road 72, Sarasota, FL 34241.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to Wounded Warrior Project or Tidewell Hospice, 5955 Rand Blvd., Sarasota, FL 34238.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.
Bill will always be in our hearts and memories.
With sympathy the Garcia family
Your family are in my thoughts and prayers Judy.
Love Cathy Galvin.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God;have faith also in Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If I go and prepare a place a for you, I will come back again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you also Will be.
John 1:4
Dear Judi and Family,
Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers…We will continue to remember Bill in our daily prayers.
Love
Bro Jim and Janice
Many commiserations to Judi and the entire family for the loss of Bill. Although we have been apart since we all left Kuwait you have always been in our thoughts as good friends and companions.
Love Graham and Joyce
Lord,
William is gone now from this earthly dwelling,
and has left behind those who mourn his absence.
Grant that we may hold his memory dear,
never bitter for what we have lost
nor in regret for the past,
but always in hope of the eternal Kingdom
where you will bring us together again.
Through Christ our Lord.
Reine and Linda Jesel
Our sincere condolences Judi to you and your family for your overwhelming loss.
Dear Judi & Family,
Our hearts and prayers are with you. We will remember Bill fondly.
Sending you love, light, and thoughts of peace and comfort for you.
Love & Hugs, Cindy & Dave
Judi, We were shocked to hear about Bill’s passing. It seems like it was not that long ago when we sat around your table with you, Bill and several other friends. Our condolences and prayers.
Dear Judi & Family,
We are keeping you all in our hearts & prayers. Your family’s bond & strength together are testimony to the quiet, dignified grace that Bill portrayed. As your neighbors for 13+ years, we have admired the love you & Bill have modeled for your family & all of us. We will miss him with fond memories.
We will remember Bill for his tolerance tempered by his unshakeable love of family, friends, country, and his catholic faith.
Our sincere regrets to Judi and his many loved ones.
Blessings and prayers to you and your family Judy at this great time of loss. I am grateful to have gotten to know Bill on Thanksgiving day several years ago.
Love and respect,
Gretchen
Our family has so many memories of good times spent in Morocco. Our Hearts and Prayers are with you now and always!
Gray & Woodward Family
Bill was a great brother-in-law.He made me feel at ease and that I always belonged.He will be so missed.Condolences to you all.
My loving thoughts and prayers go out to you, Judi and your family at this time. And especially to Bill on his beautiful journey home. His presence will be missed.
Our heartfelt condolences. We have very fond memories of Bill at different times, in different places and over many years. Our thoughts are with you all at this very difficult time.
Much love,
Chris, George and family
I am truly sorry to hear of the loss of William E. Hood III. Please accept my condolences and may my prayers help comfort you and hasten the journey of his soul to Heaven.
Dear Judy and family, our thoughts and prayers are with you during this sad time. Sincerely, Geza and Suzy Eiler
Only your physical body is gone but your spirit will be with everyone in your family and friends. I’m proud you and your family allowed me to be part of your life.
We are so sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time and hope that the cherished memories you must have with Bill bring you peace.
Our Deepest Sympathy
The Devine Family
Hood family,
I’m going to miss his Christmas letters. He was so proud of you all.
Sorry for your loss.
Bill has surely left a legacy of strength, of character, respect and great light.
Above all else, love – a deep enduring and everlasting love for his beautiful family,
dear friends and his undying love for his country.
His kindness, love and spirit will live on.
William Edward Hood III made this world a better place.
I am so very grateful to have met him on this journey
Linda
We never met, but thank you for your service
Condolences to Bill’s family. He was an old friend. RIP Bill.
I have many fond memories of times with Bill. He will be sorely missed.
I just heard about his passing today.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. RIP
Our condolences to the Hood family. Bill was a work colleague who we had the honor of serving with. Rest in peace. – Rich & Linda Sunday
Judi: I did not know Bill in High School. However, as many of our brothers of St. Francis, he lived a full life; shared it with many and passed his ideals on to others. A great legacy. Your presence made all this much easier to accomplish. The physical void is great, but his spirit will be felt by many for a long time to come. We will remember you and Bill in our prayers. May our Lord’s Peace be with you and your family.
Judy & family of Bill: Greetings. My deepest sympathy to all of you on the death of Bill. He lived a good fulfilling life in service to God, his family and his country. Thanks be to God for the goodness of his life. The best way to memorialize Bill is to follow his example of service to others. Cherish the memories and pray your goodbyes. I will offer three Masses for the repose of his soul. May he rest in peace. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. May your deep and abiding faith in he resurrection be your strength as you mourn the loss. Fr. Dan Zak, St. Francis classmate of Bill’s of the great class of 1959.I am now a retired priest of the Diocese of Toledo. All good things to you all.
Judy, You and Bill are in my prayers. Tom McGuire, class of 59
I just came across this notice, many months late. What a nice writeup. I learned a lot from it that I did not know from working with him for several years. He was indeed a wonderful man to work for and with. Janet and I offer our most sincere condolences to Judi and your family.
Bill was an inspirational, kindhearted, and generous man. I knew him in my late teen years during his time in Cairo (1985-1987) and I had the fortune to meet him again in Kuwait during my deployment in the region. Bill is missed and and my family’s thoughts and prayers are with the Hood family.
Slow Salute.