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Effie Wood was born December 11, 1909 in Tate, Georgia. She graduated
as a music major from Wesleyan College, and in 1933 she married her high school sweetheart, who was by then the Rev. Harry
Wood. She was the mother of two children, a son and a daughter. Her son, Harry L. Wood, Jr. is a United Methodist
Minister in California. Effie died on October 14, 1993 while living with her daughter, Jan Wood Stokes, in Knoxville,
Tennessee.
Effie was loved by all. Her husband said she was "a perfect wife, mother, and grandmother."
Florence Garner said Effie was "a quiet person, a good listener, and she had the ability to help people over hard times in
their lives."
It was in the fall of 1967, while Effie's husband was serving as the minister of Buford First United
Methodist Church, that the Effie Wood Circle was organized. It began as only a thought and desire in the mind of Florence
Garner. Seeing a need for a circle for the "younger women", Mrs. Garner along with Annie Laurie Shadburn, Mary
Jo Rampey, and Effie Wood organized the circle and held its first meeting at the parsonage. The small group elected
as its first officers Mary Dean as Leader, Selma Cheeley as Co-Leader, Ruby Mathis as Secretary, and Beverly Sears as
Treasurer.
For several years the group struggled as attendance was poor and finances were low, but it survived
due to Mrs. Wood's enthusiasm and stamina. Because of the dedicated, loving members of the Effie Wood Circle, it has
grown steadily in attendance and strength through the years, and has accomplished many projects for missions of the church.
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