Wood, Susanne Kathryn Griffiths (1933-2019) | University of Illinois Archives

Susane "Sue" Kathryn Griffiths Wood (1933-2019) was a biologist and chimesmaster at the University of Illinois. Sue wood was born in Buffalo, New York. She received her bachelors and masters degrees in microbiology from the University of Buffalo. In 1966 she moved to Champaign-Urbana to pursue a PhD in plant pathology. In 1970 she married Richard Bruce Wood, who had earned a masters degree in geography from the University of Illinois before becoming a US postal worker. After earning her PhD in 1976, Wood began working with the Illinois Natural History Survey and later earned a job at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

As a graduate student, Wood performed the carillon at the University Lutheran Church. She met Albert Marien in 1971 and began performing on the Altgeld Chimes soon thereafter. She became the chimesmaster in 1994. In the 1980s and 90s, Sue performed on the bass balalaika with her husband in John Garvey's Russian Folk Orchestra. She retired from her role as chimesmaster in 2016. Wood died in Philo, Illinois in 2019.