Ruby married Leon Douglas Wood on October 30, 1941 in Norman, Cleveland Co., Oklahoma, by J. L. Garrett Justice of the peace.


THE OKLAHOMAN
JANUARY 24, 1960
SUNDAY
PAGE 142

Three City Children, Mother Dies In Crash On Trip To California

Truck Smash Into Their Car On Foggy Road

Brother, Sister Of Four Victims Hurt In Smashup


An Oklahoma City woman and three of her children were killed Saturday morning when their stalled car was ripped apart by a steel-laden semi-trailer truck near curve on a fog-cloaked California highway.
Mrs. Juanita Ruby Wood, 35, of 1604 S Lowery, and three children, Gwen, 11, Sandy, 7, and Leon, 9, were killed when their car was torn apart; Trooper Art Becker of the California Highway Patrol said.
Two other children, Rebecca, 6, and Gary, 7, were taken to the Tulare County Hospital. Rebecca is reported in fair condition suffering from a fractured hip and arm. Gary is in good condition suffering from lacerations of the forehead.

~~~ Auto Stalled ~~~

The accident occurred near a curved and an underpass on four-lane U. S. 99 mid-way between Bakersfield and Fresno.
Becker quoted Gary as saying the Wood car had been stalled in the right lane and was starting when it was struck from the rear.
Emmanuel Mello, Visalia, Calif., driver of the semi-trailer loaded with steel plates, told the California highway patrol he rounded a curve in the highway and at the last minute saw an unlighted car, Becker said.

~~~ Car's Side Ripped ~~~

The truck, in an attempt to miss the car hit the auto at an angle and the bumper of the huge truck caught a fender of the car and ripped off the left side and top.
The impact sent the car careening up and embankment. It toppled off the incline and bounced back on to the highway where it was struck by a second auto.
Mello was not injured. Mrs. Wood and the children, who neighbors said had only recently moved to 1604 S Lowery, were reportedly on their way to Richmond, Calif., to see Leon D. Wood, the father and husband.


THE OKLAHOMAN
JANUARY 27, 1960
WEDNESDAY
PAGE 15
"OBITUARY"

Service Friday For Four Killed In Auto Wreck

Services for Mrs. Juanita Ruby Wood, 1604 S Lowery, and three of her children, Gwen, 11, Sandy, 7, and Leon, 9, will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Hunter Funeral Chapel. Burial will be in Sunny Lane Cemetery.
Mrs. Wood and the three children were killed Saturday in an automobile accident between Bakersfield and Fresno, Calif. Mrs. Wood was going to Richmond, Calif., to see her husband, Leon D. Wood.
Surviving are six sons, Roy Lee, Oklahoma City; Arvin, Curtis, Bennie and Glenn, all of Richmond, and Gary of the home; a daughter, Rebecca, of the home; the father James E. Sharum, 3020 SW 21; six brothers, Leonard, Ada; Ralph, route 5, Guthrie; Roy, east of the city; James jr., 2525 W Grand Ave.; Boyd, Hayward, Calif., and Alvin, Lawton; three sisters, Edity Smith, 3020 SW 21; Mae Smith, Tulsa, and Betty Jean Sharum, Enid.


THE OKLAHOMAN
JANUARY 29, 1960
FRIDAY
PAGE 3


MRS, JUANITA RUBY WOOD

Services for Mrs. Juanita Ruby Wood, 1604 S. Lowery, and her three children, killed in a California auto accident, will be at 2 p.m. Friday in the Hunter Funeral Home chapel. Burial will be in Sunny Lane Cemetery.
The children are Gwen, 11, Sandy, 7, and Leon, 9.


THE OKLAHOMAN
FEBRUARY 4, 1960
THURSDAY
PAGE 4


Final Custody Case Argument Will Be Heard

County Judge Bruno Miller will hear final arguments Thursday in the guardianship case involving two Oklahoma City children who survived a California automobile accident that took the lives of their mother, two brothers and a sister.
Hearing in the case opened Wednesday after Mrs. Edith Smith, aunt of the two children asked the court to find their father, Leon Wood, of Richmond, Calif., an unfit parent.
The children involved are Gary, 7, returned to Oklahoma City by his father, and Rebecca, 6, confined in a Tulara, Calif., hospital, suffering serious injuries.

~~~ Deputy Named ~~~

Mrs. Smith, a deputy in the district court clerk's office, had herself named temporary guardian of the two children and administratrix of the estate of her sister, Mrs. Juanita Ruby Wood, 35.
Mrs. Smith told the court Wednesday she believed Wood was an unfit parent to care for the two children because he drank intoxicating liquors and had served prison time for burglary.
Mike Foster, attorney for Wood, told the court he will prove the father is a fit parent and always took care of his 10 children when he lived in Oklahoma City.
The twist of fate which divided the large family followed a divorce action in Oklahoma City a year ago.

~~~ Agreement Made ~~~~

Wood, who bought and said second hand pipe and construction materials took five of the older children by agreement and his wife kept the five younger ones.
Twins were divided.
Wood moved to California to find employment and took five children along. Following correspondence between the divorced husband and wife the two agreed on a reconciliation.
Mrs. Wood loaded five children in the family automobile and started for California early in January. The family never arrived in Richmond.
Early on the morning of January 24 Mrs. Wood's automobile became stalled on a fog-cloaked highway on a curve between Bakersfield and Fresno.

~~~ Car Demolished ~~~

A large trailer truck loaded with steel crashed into the stalled automobile demolishing it.
Mrs. Wood and three children, Gwen, 11, Leon, 9, and Sandy, 7, were killed instantly. Gary and Rebecca survived.
Litigation began a week ago. Mrs. Smith filed a petition in court to have herself named administratrix of the estate and guardian if the two surviving children.
Wood filed a petition in California seeking custody He also hired a firm of attorneys to file suit against the trucking firm.


"A SPECIAL THANKS TO KIM WOODHOUSE (47192642) FOR THE ABOVE ARTICLES AND OBITUARIES"



THE DAILY REVIEW
HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA
JANURARY 23, 1960

TULARE ADVANCE REGISTER
JANURARY 23-25

PART OF THE ARTICLES

outskirts of Pixby, 16 miles south of Tulare.
Dead are Mrs. Juanita Ruby Wood; two daughters, Gwenn, 11, and Sandy, 7, and a son, Leon, 9.
Two children other children were injured and taken to a Tulare hospital.