Ex-UNF employee murdered, mourned
Passionate. Positive. Cheerful. Compassionate. Sincere.
These are the words used to describe ex-UNF employee Francie Billotti-Wood, 33, who is now mourned by her co-workers, friends and remaining family.
Francie’s husband Christopher Wood, 34, allegedly murdered the family—Francie, sons Chandler, 5, and Gavin, 4; and daughter Fiona, 2—before turning the gun on himself in their Middletown, MD. home. Francie’s father found the bodies after kicking the door in around 9 a.m. April 18, according to a Frederick County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Francie joined UNF’s staff in January 2005 as a part-time fundraiser for the Library, having moved to Jacksonville from Maryland with Christopher, who had gained a position at CSX. In December 2005, she moved to the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction as a full-time fundraiser.
“We are all still in shock over what happened to Francie and her family,” CCEC dean Neal Coulter said. “There is just no way to describe the empty feeling.”
Francie left UNF in October 2006 when she discovered she was pregnant with her third child. In her online blog, whatamisupposedtodonow.blogspot.com, she wrote of the love she had for her children.
“Her goal was to be the best mother she could possibly be,” Sharon Ashton, assistant vice president of academic relations said. “If she believed something, she believed it 110 percent and made everyone else a believer too.”
As a fan of five different non-profits on Facebook, her fundraising efforts continued outside of the workplace. Before she died, she set a fundraising goal of $500 for the Maryland organization Volunteer Frederick, according to jacksonville.com.
It continues in her memory, and so far $1005 has been raised, according to her blog. Donations can be made online or sent to Zion Lutheran Church at 107 W Main St, Middletown, MD 21769.
“Recalling images of Francie and her sons is just too painful now,” Coulter said. “But the good times will stay with us.”
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