Dale Arthur Wood

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Dale Arthur Wood, age 73 of Mountain Home, passed away on June 2, 2019 at the VA Medical Center in Boise, after a fight with multiple cancers. A memorial for family and friends will take place later this summer in Mountain Home. Arrangements are under the care of Rost Funeral Home 500 No. 18 East Mountain Home. 208-587-0612.

Dale was born on November 16, 1945 in Hastings, Michigan, to Carl and Dorothy Wood. Carl served in the U.S. Air Force, and Dale, along with his 6 siblings, spent his childhood growing up at a variety of military bases around the world, including two years at Wheelus Air Base in Tripoli, Libya. Dale eventually wound up in Oxnard, California, where he graduated from Oxnard High School.

Dale soon followed in his father’s footsteps, and enlisted in the Air Force in 1965. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, and tech school at Keesler Air Force Base, Dale was assigned to Winnemucca Air Force Station in Nevada, where he served from 1966 to 1968. After helping to deactivate Winnemucca, he transferred to Gibbsboro Air Force Station in New Jersey. After serving there for a year, Dale was sent to the Philippines, where he spent 4 years at Clark Air Base in Angeles City.

While at Clark, Dale also undertook temporary deployments to Thailand during the Vietnam War, and to South Korea. He later expressed many fond memories about his time at Clark. After his tropical sojourn, Dale moved back to Nevada in 1974, this time to Fallon Air Force Station, where he met the love of his life, Suzanne Brandenburg-Baines. Sue’s brother-in-law, Robin Seabolt, who was also stationed at the base, introduced them to each other. Dale then transferred to Minot Air Force Station, North Dakota, in 1975, and Sue went along with her two sons in tow. They married at the base chapel on October 24, 1975.

After two very snowy years, the new family transferred to Bremerhaven, Germany in 1977, where Dale served with the 636th Tactical Control Squadron based at Carl Schurz Kaserne. They were known as the “Dump Rats” due to the fact that their radars were placed on top of an active landfill located near the Kaserne. In 1980, Dale received orders for Avon Park Air Force Bombing Range, in central Florida, which was the least favorite assignment of his career. Finally, in 1982 he received orders for the last time, and the family packed up again for the move to Mountain Home Air Force Base. Dale retired from the Air Force after 20 years of service in 1985 and remained in Mountain Home with Sue.

After retiring from active duty, Dale worked for a defense contractor at the Saylor Creek training range, and then ultimately for Micron Electronics in Nampa, and as a contractor for Hewlett Packard in Boise. Along the way he acquired an Associate’s degree from Boise State. Dale was an avid reader, and a sports fan of all the Michigan-based professional teams, especially the Detroit Redwings, along with the University of Michigan for college sports. He greatly enjoyed playing online games, including poker and blackjack, and had an avid interest in birds and all things related to outer space.

He is survived by his wife Sue of Mountain Home, his brother-in-law Robin Seabolt of Mountain Home, his step-son Cliff Baines (Linda) of Washington and Clint Baines of California, his brothers Gerry and Michael (Caryne) Wood, both of California, his sister Susan (Ron) Tietz of California, and his sisters Anne (Jim) Smith and Judy (Chris) Zukin, both of Oregon. Dale will be interred at the Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home. His family misses him dearly.