Wellesley’s oldest resident, Walter Woods, passes away at 106

Wellesley is mourning the death and remembering the lifetime of service of Walter Woods, who passed away at the age of 106, on Jan. 2, 2025, after a brief stay at Elizabeth Seton Residence, where he was receiving care for recent health issues. Walter was preceded in death by his wife Mary. He is survived by four children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Here’s the formal obituary for Walter Woods.

Town officials were fortunate to visit with Woods a few days before he passed, presenting him with the ceremonial Boston Cane on Dec. 30, 2024, at Elizabeth Seton. The cane is conferred each year to the town’s eldest resident.

Walter, an MIT graduate (1942) and talented engineer who once worked for NASA, is well-known for his many contributions to Wellesley and his dedication and influence as a Town government volunteer.

According to his obituary, Woods was on the “Wellesley Board of Public Works for 16 years; Town Meeting Member from Precinct A for 53 years and a Town Representative to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), which he helped establish in 1985, and on which he served for 32 years until his 99th birthday. As a chair of the Regional Committee, in 1996 Walter worked to help lease 36 acres of Elm Bank land to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.”

Services for Walter Woods

Visitation at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington Street, Wellesley, on Wednesday, January 8, from 4-7pm. Funeral Mass on Thursday, January 9, in St. Paul Church, Wellesley, at 10am. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, Wellesley. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in memory of Walter Woods to be made to the Wellesley Council on Aging, 500 Washington St., Wellesley, MA 02482.