Dolores Susan Wood

On November 7, 2025, at 9:13 pm, Jesus came to take Dolores Wood to the eternal home He has prepared for her. Dolores was born on March 11, 1936, in Garfield, NJ, to Frank and Josephine (Ciolino) Garippa, the 11th of 13 siblings. She grew up in Garfield for the first 23 years of her life. After attending a Billy Graham crusade, she surrendered her life to Jesus Christ and felt a strong calling to be a missionary. She attended Columbia Bible College in South Carolina in order to prepare herself for missionary work in Southeast Asia. It was there she met her husband and life partner in serving the LORD, Chester Wood. They married on August 8, 1964, at Calvary Baptist Church in Clifton, NJ. Together they began an adventurous life following the LORD's leading to Scotland, Singapore, the Philippines, Minnesota, Kenya and finally to Indiana in 2007. They had four daughters: Elisabeth Ann (born in Highland Park, IL), Rebekah Joy (born in Siloam Springs, AK), Ruth Abbey (born in St. Andrews, Scotland) and Deborah Susan (born in Manila, Philippines).

Throughout her life, Dolores cherished being a mother, homemaker and missionary. She had the gracious gift of hospitality and enjoyed preparing Italian food and sweets for family and guests in her home. She cared deeply for the poor and as a missionary she shared the love of Jesus with everyone who crossed her path. She was faithful in prayer for many – both those she knew personally and others she never met. Dolores loved writing poetry, listening to classical music and Italian opera, and attending concerts with Chester.

Dolores is survived by her beloved husband Chester; her siblings Rachel, Dorothy, and Robert (Del) Garippa; her children Elisabeth (Wayne) Bloomquist, Rebekah (Greg) Decker; Ruth (Robert) Dagit, and Deborah Wood; and her grandchildren Jared (Kristen), Eva and Elodie Decker, and Alexander, Gabriel and Justus Dagit. She is preceded in death by her siblings Matilda, Esther, David, Mary, Lydia, Ruth, Matthew, Elizabeth and Hannah Garippa.

A memorial service will be held at 3 pm, Friday, November 21, 2025, at Faith Church, 9125 North College Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46240. The service will be in-person and accessible online. To join online, go to https://faithchurchindy.online.church/.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Christian Leaders for Africa (CLA) for the PhD program at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST):

Online: https://www.clafrica.com/

By Mail: P.O. Box 3302 Carmel, IN 46082

Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…

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