SUSAN WOODS GRAGG beloved daughter, wife,
mother & sister was born Dec. 7, 1945 in Eastland,
TX to Lillian Captola Woods (n e Browning) & William
Edward Woods Sr. and died on March 29, 2025, with
burial at Quantico National Cemetery in Fairfax, VA.
The family lived in Ranger, TX and Susan attended
public schools there, graduating from Ranger High
School in 1964. She excelled academically in high
school, especially in mathematics, & spent summers
working in a local social science firm. She also
excelled as a musician, playing flute and piccolo
for the Ranger High School band.
After high school she attended the University of
Texas at Austin, majoring in secondary education
(focused on mathematics and government) & playing
the flute in the marching band. She met Robert
(Bob) Gragg there on a blind date and both of them
fell hopelessly in love. She earned a BA in 1967
and married Bob in 1968. He joined the U.A. Air
Force that year and was eventually stationed in
Wichita KS where their daughter was born. In 1972,
after his military service, the family moved to
Austin TX, where their son was born. There both
parents entered graduate programs (she in political
science, he in physics) and Susan somehow managed
to be active in a bridge club and also serve as a
Girl Scout leader. After earning PhDs they spent
a year in Austin teaching at UT and working in
applied science.
In 1982 the family moved to Fairfax, VA and Susan
began work at the Central Intelligence Agency,
ultimately becoming Chief Information Officer at
the National Reconnaissance Office. Bob became a
research physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory.
Susan retired from the CIA in 2008, then worked as
a contractor in the intelligence community for
another three years before finally retiring for
good. For several years Susan served as president
of her neighborhood HOA. She was also an active
member of the neighborhood book club, the 'Biblio
Babes', where she was valued for her judgement in
selecting books and for her insight and wit at
meetings.
In retirement, she remained an avid reader and
gardener. The couple traveled often and greatly
enjoyed their life together. After her diagnosis
of bile-duct cancer in March of 2024, she endured
months of difficult chemotherapy. When that
ultimately failed, she entered home hospice care.
Susan is survived by her husband Robert, her
daughter Abigail Brown and her husband Steven
Brown, her son Christopher, her brother William
Edward Woods Jr. (RHS-1970) & his wife Rebeca
Buxton.