William “Jay” Wood
March 15, 1954 – August 9, 2025
Dr. William Jerome “Jay” Wood, 71, beloved husband, father, grandfather, professor, and friend, passed away peacefully on August 9, 2025, surrounded by his family.
Jay was born on March 15, 1954, in Bethesda, Maryland, to Josiah and Sylvia (née Higinbotham) Wood, and spent most of his childhood in Southern California. After graduating from Westmont College (B.A., 1976), he attended the University of Notre Dame, earning his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1986. He began what would become a nearly four-decade career as a professor of philosophy at Wheaton College (IL), where he taught from 1982 until his retirement in 2021.
An engaging and thoughtful teacher, Jay impacted thousands of students with his dynamic lectures, deep care for his students, and gift for mentoring. His scholarly work focused on epistemology and the philosophy of religion, with a particular interest in virtue epistemology. He published numerous articles in academic journals and several books, including Epistemology: Becoming Intellectually Virtuous and Intellectual Virtues: An Essay in Regulative Epistemology, co-authored with Dr. Robert C. Roberts. At Wheaton College, he served in many leadership roles including as department chair and Vice Chair of Faculty.
Christian virtues were not only an academic concern, but the driving force of Jay’s life. He was a longtime member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, where he served faithfully in many roles, including vestry leadership and teaching adult education. Since 2005, he had been a devoted member of Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, where he sang in the choir. His Christian faith shaped how he taught, how he parented, and how he moved through the world—with integrity, kindness, and a steadfast commitment to serving others.
In 1976, Jay married the love of his life, Janice (née Skivington). Over nearly 50 years of marriage, they built a home filled with hospitality, learning, laughter, and adventure. Together they raised four children—Adam, Diana, Gillian, and Samuel—and created countless family traditions, from animated bedtime readings of The Chronicles of Narnia, Quo Vadis, and Harry Potter to coaching sports teams and fostering their children’s spiritual, intellectual, and physical growth.
Jay was equally devoted to his role as grandfather to ten grandchildren, delighting in reading to them, encouraging their curiosity, and passing down his love of stories.
A lifelong learner and explorer, Jay loved reading literature, listening to classical music, running, traveling, and spending time outdoors. He especially enjoyed hiking and spotting wildlife. His adventures took him across the world, with some of the family’s most treasured memories made on hiking trips in Colorado, during a month in England, and on a legendary backpacking journey through Guatemala.
Jay lived the life of a truly “good and faithful servant”—rooted in God, rich in relationships, and generous in spirit. He touched countless lives, many in ways he never fully realized.
He is survived by his wife, Janice; his children, Adam (Caris née Hubbard) Wood, Diana (Matthew) Soerens, Gillian (Keith) Conrad, and Samuel Wood; and his grandchildren, Zipporah, Augustine, Zephaniah, Audrey, Catherine, Zoë, Amelia, Abraham, Sophia, and Zacchaeus. He is preceded in death by his mother, Sylvia, his father, Josiah, and his brother, Kenneth. His family gives thanks for the gift of his life and the enduring mark he leaves on this world.
A memorial service will be held at Church of the Resurrection 935 W Union Ave, Wheaton, Illinois 60187 on August 30, 2025 at 11 am, luncheon to follow. Memorial donations can be made to World Relief Chicagoland at https://worldrelief.org/chicagoland.
“One thing have I desired of the Lord; that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).
