Longtime attorney dies at age 66
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on January 14, 2007 10:50 AM
Goldsboro lawyer and former City Council member J. Darby Wood died Saturday. He was 66.
Wood, a native of Lexington, Ky, practiced law in Wayne County for more than 40 years and served in a variety of public roles, including chairman of the boards of the Red Cross and Wayne Country Day School.
A graveside service will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Willow Dale Cemetery.
Wood was a former president of the county Economic Development Commission, the Goldsboro Committee of 100 and a former member of the Goldsboro City School Board and the Chamber of Commerce's Military Affairs Committee.
Friends described him as quiet, generous and civic-minded. An avid golfer, he was a member of the board of directors of the Walnut Creek and Goldsboro country clubs.
"He was a fine individual, a man of the highest character and integrity, an honest and forthright man," said Carroll Overton. "He always came through in others' time of need. He certainly will be missed, not only by his friends, but by the community as a whole."
Ray Bryan was another close friend of Wood's.
"He was just a great guy," Bryan said. "He did a lot of good things. I'm going to miss him."
Harrell Everett was a former law partner. He described Wood as a capable attorney who was extremely civic-minded.
"He was beloved by a great number of people," Everett said. "He was a very caring person, a man's man."
Evelyn Paul was Wood's secretary for most of his legal career.
"He was just a wonderful person and he was loved by many people," she said.
Wood attended the Virginia Military Institute and was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his law degree from UNC as well.
He is survived by a son, Adlai Broadhurst Wood, and wife Ann; two daughters: Sarah Lockhart Wood and Frances Oliver Wood; and two grandsons. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sarah Broadhurst Wood, and a son, John Darby Wood Jr.