Celia Kennedy Wood, 81, a member of a pioneer family in the area and retired chief switchboard operator for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, passed away July 24, 2015.

Celia, a native of Bradenton, was born Sept. 11, 1933. She moved to the area as an infant with her mother, Mary Elizabeth Beville Kennedy. She was the youngest of 10 children. The Beville family were pioneers in the area, establishing the Buckeye Dairy in 1912 on what is now Beville Road and were also the founders of The White Chapel Church of God in South Daytona.

Celia was married to her high school sweetheart, James H. Wood Jr., for 64 years until his death Nov. 18, 2014. Jim and Celia moved to Brevard County in the 1950s, returning to Daytona Beach in the 1960s to raise their four children. She started to work at The News-Journal in 1968 and retired in 2007.

A special joy to Celia was her family and time spent with her many friends. Survivors include four children: Constance W. Rountree, Ormond Beach; James A. (Shelley), Ormond Beach; Lisa McCroden (Ron), Ormond Beach; and Sandra Wood Shaw (Mark), Holly Hill. Additional survivors include two grandchildren: Kellee Wood Fulton (Chris), Ponce Inlet; and Thomas James McCroden, Ormond Beach; two great granddaughters, Nelanee and Zoee, Ponce Inlet; two sisters - Virginia Shipes, Daytona Beach; and Joyce Harwell (Herman), of Alabama.

The funeral service will be held at 11:30 a. m. Thursday, July 30 at Lohman Funeral Home Daytona with a visitation beginning one hour prior. Dr. R. Dennis Cole, professor of Old Testament Hebrew and archeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, officiating. Memorial donations may be made to the Halifax Humane Society, 2364 LPGA Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32124. Arrangements are under the careful direction of Lohman Funeral Home Daytona.