Wood Memorial Service Set for May

A memorial service for renowned Ojai artist Beatrice Wood is scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. on May 31 at Happy Valley School.

The famed ceramist, 105, died Thursday.

Wood taught art at the progressive private high school in the Upper Ojai in the 1950s and lived on its grounds at the time of her death.

“We wanted some time to be able to plan an appropriate memorial service for her,” said her trustee, Rick Nightingale. “I expect it will be very well-attended.”

The date is close to the school’s graduation ceremony so the facility will be set up to accommodate a large crowd of people, Nightingale said.

A private funeral service for Wood will be held at an undetermined date immediately after she is cremated, said her conservator, Suzanne McNeely.