Dr. Robert Hood, 76, Neurologist, Psychiatrist

The Air Force was good to Robert Frederic Hood. It educated him and made him a colonel. He repaid the favor with a long career as a neurologist and psychiatrist in military hospitals and private practice.

But Dr. Hood was so much more than his work. His interests ranged from body surfing and tennis to composing music on the piano.

And his relationships, says his family, represented balance, patience and empathy.

"He was very patient and nonjudgmental," said his son Brian Hood of Albany, Australia. "Kids on the block who were poor or didn't have parents flocked to our house, not to play with us, but to see Bob. He'd take them fishing, and just had a lot of time for them. He had time for people in general."

Dr. Hood was also very handsome and good at sports, said his son:

"He was the kind of guy who could have been anything. He could have played pro football if he'd wanted. He had the skill and the strength. And he was a pretty smart guy."

Dr. Hood died of cancer Tuesday (June 30). He was 76.

His wife of 47 years, Jeanne Hood of Mercer Island, values the friendship she and her husband had before they wed. She was "a little kid" when her brother brought his friend Bob home on leave from military service in World War II. Both were studying medicine in the Army Specialized Training Program.

"School kids were required to write a letter to a serviceman every day, so I wrote to him along with my brother," she said. "He always eventually answered my letters."

They married after he earned his doctor of medicine degree at the University of Colorado in 1946. He became an Air Force physician and worked at military hospitals in California and other Western states as well as in Germany.

One of seven children born to an accountant and his wife in Santa Ana, Calif., Dr. Hood liked football but also enjoyed science. He earned a bachelor's degree in botany at the University of California, Davis, before joining the Army.

After retiring from the military in 1967, he practiced in Roseburg, Ore., then moved to Seattle in 1968 to work at Community Psychiatric Clinic. He began a private practice as a neurological surgeon and psychiatrist in 1976.

He took time to ski with his wife, who taught him the sport, and play tennis, which he taught her. They also swam at their condominium in Cancun, Mexico.

"And we both loved ballroom dancing," she said. "We had a big rec room, and sometimes we danced there all by ourselves."

Other survivors include his children Eric Hood of Whidbey Island; Gregory Hood of Carlsbad, Calif.; Valeri Hood of Fairfax, Calif.; and Melani Kent of San Diego; his sisters Ruth Hood, Janice Haynes and Carolyn Teague, all of Santa Ana; his brother Philip Hood of Scottsdale, Ariz.; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

A memorial gathering will be at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Mercerwood Shore Club, 4150 E. Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Carole Beers' phone message number is 206-464-2391. Her e-mail address is: cbee-new@seatimes.com