A death

The conservation profession suffered a collective disaster recently
with the loss of H. Larry Wood, killed February 13th, 2000 while
returning home in his private plane that crashed in bad weather over
Tennessee.  A thirty-year veteran of the property restoration
business, Larry founded Disaster Recovery Services, Inc. (DRS) in
1993 and was the driving force behind the company's achievement as
one of this nation's leading providers of disaster recovery
services.  His integrity and personal vision were key factors in the
decision by Belfor International to purchase of DRS in November of
1999, providing entree into the US market for one of the world's
largest disaster recovery providers.

Born December 15th, 1935, and a lifelong resident of Fort Worth,
Texas, Larry advanced vacuum freeze-drying practices for water-
damaged books and documents by personally building or managing the
construction of five state-of-the-art freeze-drying chambers. His
passion for books, documents, and photographs led him to establish a
working dialog with some of this nation's most respected
conservators and conservation scientists, allowing him to establish
new standards for quality and handling of seriously damaged, paper-
based materials. He was the only professional disaster recovery
provider invited to accompany an elite group of consultants who
visited St. Petersburg, Russia in 1994 to participate in a symposium
on paper recovery practices hosted by the Academy of Sciences
following that library's disastrous fire.  His firm also salvaged
the Colorado State University's Morgan Library collection following
the devastating 1997 flood responsible for damaged 325,000 volumes,
applying an ingenious, low cost, liquid nitrogen system for
stabilizing books en route to commercial freezers.

Most significantly, Larry was a gifted teacher and mentor,
introducing scores of preservation librarians and county clerks
alike to the practical aspects of disaster planning and recovery.
His capacity to help victims grasp the technical options and
political necessities following in the aftermath of a flood or a
fire earned him the gratitude and admiration of numerous colleagues.
His ability to investigate and apply innovative disaster recovery
options appropriate to the treatment of culturally significant
material were a privilege to witness and will be sorely missed.

Larry is survived by his wife, Ok Im, five children ranging in age
from seven years to adult, a brother Chip, and his mother, Nancy
Wood Oneill.  Funeral services will be held at the Birdville First
Baptist Church in Haltom City (a Fort Worth suburb) at 10:00 am on
Friday, February 18th, and Larry will be buried at Mount Olivet
cemetery in Birdville.  Cards and flowers may be sent to his home
(6501 Lavon Drive, North Richland Hills, TX  76118 USA).

Randy Silverman
Preservation Librarian

Randy Silverman
Preservation Librarian
University of Utah Marriott Library
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0860
801-585-6782
Fax: 801-585-3464




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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:44
               Distributed: Wednesday, February 16, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-44-001
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