‘True public servant’: Former NLV Councilwoman Anita Wood dies at 59

Anita Wood, a veteran public servant who formerly served as deputy mayor for North Las Vegas, died Saturday at 59, the city announced Thursday.

“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of esteemed colleague, former North Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Anita Wood,” Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown wrote in a statement. “She was a true public servant who worked tirelessly for our community and for our residents.”

As councilwoman, Wood represented the city’s Ward 3 in the northwest valley from 2009, until she lost a re-election bid in 2017 by 266 votes to current Councilman Scott Black.

Before being elected to office, Wood was a city planning commissioner.

“Anita’s legacy will live on in the countless lives she touched and the positive impact she made on our city and our community,” Goynes-Brown said. “Her dedication to North Las Vegas will forever be remembered and her absence will be deeply felt.”

The Clark County coroner’s office said Wood’s death was reported, but that it was not investigating. Her obituary noted that she died suddenly.

Doug Wood, her husband of 34 years, deferred comment to his wife’s online obituary.

Years of service

Wood was born in the New England area in 1964, moving to the Las Vegas Valley at the age of 6.

She attended Occidental College, a California liberal arts institution, where she earned a bachelor’s in literature, with minors in French and women’s studies, the obituary said.

It was at Occidental that she met Doug, whom she later married and with whom she had a son, Geoffrey. The couple recently celebrated their wedding anniversary, according to the obituary.

Wood was godmother to three, whom she looked after the death of their mother, who was her best friend, the obituary said.

Wood’s passion for public service began when she and her husband advocated for construction of a public park rather than an apartment complex in their neighborhood, the obituary noted.

It was through those efforts that she was appointed to the city’s planning commission.

“I loved my years of service, and I think that I did of decent job of representing my constituents,” she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2017.

After serving on the City Council, she became involved with other community-oriented committees, including the Protectors of Tule Springs, Aliante Cares and Friends of the North Las Vegas Library.

“On behalf of the entire North Las Vegas community, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to Anita’s family and loved ones,” Goynes-Brown said. “May Anita Wood’s memory continue to inspire us all.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on X.