George D. Wood, 89

George D. Wood of Hauser, Idaho, passed away April 24, 2022, after a brief illness. Born in the Four Corners region of Colorado on March 1, 1933, he grew up riding horses in the hills and learning about ranching from his father, Claude, a true cowboy, poet and songwriter.

As a teenager working on a ranch near Kremmling, Colo., George met and later married Alberta King. After the birth of their first child, they moved to Steamboat Springs, where they raised their three children, always keeping a few horses, spending lots of time outdoors — camping, hunting, fishing and exploring every nook and cranny of the West.

Well known as George the Barber, he leveraged the insider knowledge such a position offers to launch other enterprises. In 1968 he and Alberta opened the Alpiner Lodge, the first new motel built in many years as the Mt. Werner Ski Area was developing. Next came building modular homes as the area around Steamboat rapidly expanded. Semi-retired at a young age, George and Alberta moved to Escondido, Calif., to escape the harsh Colorado winters. There he continued to build the occasional home and eventually moved to northern Idaho.

George had many interests — gold mining, family and Western history, cowboy poetry, woodworking, rock-collecting, jewelry making and knife-smithing, plus gabbing at a local coffee shop. He is survived by three children, Deanna Wood Anderson, Randy Wood and Liana Jo Wood. Known as “Pot’s” to his six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, he was deeply loved by his family and will be sorely missed.