James Lee Wood Jr., died in May 2010, leaving a testamentary gift to BAF with the directive that the Foundation was to establish an unrestricted fund in memory of his parents, James and Tressie Wood. Jim stated that they contributed to ” the security and comfort I enjoyed during my lifetime,” and deserved his respect and admiration. Jim was a former managing editor of the Beckley Post- Herald and the last Sunday editor of the Raleigh-Register. He wrote a twice weekly news column, “The Wood File, “for 10 years. He was the author of the 724 page “Raleigh County, West Virginia,” which was published by the Raleigh County Historical Society. He was active in the Fayette-Raleigh Counties Genealogical Society, the Writers’ Group at the Raleigh Public Library and the Raleigh County Historical Society.
