Dr. Robert Douglas Wood

Robert D. Wood, a well-known Monroe dentist, passed away at home on January 8, 2016 at the age of 91. He will be long remembered for his quick wit, easy laugh and optimistic disposition. Robert was born January 18, 1924 in Monroe, LA to Dr. Robert L. Wood and Lillie Amman Wood. He had one sister, Elizabeth Wood Atkinson, who preceded him in death.Robert leaves behind to cherish his memory, his wife of 65 years, Camille Hancock Wood; along with their three children, Merilyn Crain (Mrs. George Crain) of Abbeville, LA, Nancy Williams (Mrs. Alan Williams), and Robert Douglas Wood, Jr., (wife, Regina Wood), both of Monroe, LA. Robert had seven grandchildren, Allison Istre Lagasse, Stephen Scott Istre, Carolyn Crain Broussard, John Creighton Crain, Elizabeth Williams Bonnecaze, J. Alan Williams, Jr. and Ava Marie McCarty; three great grandchildren, Camille Bonnecaze, Emery Bonnecaze and Camille Lagasse, along with two devoted nieces, Mary Ann Dunn (Mrs. Walter Dunn) and Linda Hanchey Taylor.Robert attended Georgia Tucker Elementary and Neville High School where he was president of the student body. He was an Eagle Scout and worked four summers as a lifeguard at the Swayze Natatorium. Following graduation from what was then Northeast Louisiana Junior College, he attended Loyola Dental School from which he graduated in 1946. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army prior to beginning his practice by sharing a dental office with his father. After his father’s death, he maintained his dental practice on Royal Street in Monroe for forty years. Robert also expended considerable time and effort on his second career as a practical joker, a field in which he was both revered and feared.Robert loved to hunt and fish with friends and family. He was one of the first in this area to utilize Labrador Retrievers in duck hunting and was a founder of the North Louisiana Retriever Club. For an approximately fifteen-year period, he actively completed in and judged Field Trials from San Antonio to Seattle.Robert liked to travel and enjoyed relating stories of his trips. In addition to hunting and fishing in Alaska, British Columbia, Mexico and Montana, he traveled around the world with his wife. He particularly relished recounting his eight-week round trip journey with his Boy Scout Troop via banana boat from the Port of New Orleans to the 1939 New York World’s Fair.Robert was a member of various clubs and organizations including Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Louisiana Dental Society, The Old Boys Club, Bayou DeSiard Country Club and the Lotus Club.A visitation will be held from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Sunday, January 10, 2016 at Mulhearn Funeral Home, 2308 Sterlington Road, Monroe, LA. A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, January 11, 2016 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 2510 Emerson Street, Monroe, LA with Father Tim Hurd officiating. Interment will follow at Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery in Monroe, under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Monroe, LA.Pallbearers will be Judge Frederic Amman, Walter Dunn, Stephen Istre, Manard Lagasse, David Outley, and Alan Williams, Jr. Honorary pallbearers are Lovell Hayden, Dr. Ralph King, Dr. Burchall Liles, Bubba Russell, Bill Shotwell, Carl Tidwell, Rusty Wood, and Dr. Gene Worthen.In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Friends of the Ouachita Parish Public Library, 1800 Stubbs Avenue, Monroe, LA 71201.