Polly A. (Bamberg) Woods

Polly A. (Bamberg) Woods of Reading passed away after a long illness on Thursday, July 16, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. She was 87 years of age.

Born on Saturday, January 21, 1939, in Atlanta, Georgia, Polly was the loving daughter of the late Gladys Vivian (Abrams) Bamberg and Edward Bamberg. Polly was a warm, kind, gentle, loyal, and caring daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, sister-in-law, and friend who will be truly missed.

Polly was the beloved wife of the late Frank J. Woods Jr. She was the devoted mother of Frank Woods III and his wife Linda Liberatore, Susan Woods, David Woods, and the late Stephen Woods. She was the cherished grandmother of Margaret Woods, Helen Woods-Blake and her husband Chris Blake, and Grace Woods along with their mother Christine, Cassidy Woods, Madison Woods, and Steven Woods along with their mother Kristine, Kelly Ingersoll and her husband Kristopher Ingersoll, Thomas Seibold and his partner Ryan Garrison, Erin Woods and her partner Jack Gorman, and Kristina Murphy. Polly was the doting great-grandmother of Kennedy Ingersoll and Layla Rodriguez. She was the dear sister of Sarah Danison. Polly is also lovingly survived by many nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

Always a Georgia lady at heart, Polly moved with her mother and sister to Massachusetts as a child. Living in Stoneham, Malden, and eventually settling in Burlington, she and her sister Sarah would spend their summers back home in the Peachtree State. She met her husband, Frank, when they both attended Burlington High School. They married on July 7, 1961, and celebrated 54 years of marriage the day before Frank passed away, July 8, 2015. Polly and Frank raised their family on Brackett Ave in Stoneham. A devoted stay-at-home mother during her children’s early years, she was a Cub Scout leader to her son Frank’s troop, a long-time CCD teacher, and avidly involved in her children’s schooling and extracurricular activities. As they grew, Polly’s work outside the home included administrative work at the Nixdorf Computer Engineering Corp in Burlington, librarian work at Stoneham High School—where she could always oversee the plethora of innocuous antics of her son David­, a stint as a small business owner operating Nanny Pros Inc. in Stoneham, and nineteen years as the manager of her daughter Susan’s Dancenter of Stoneham. She is fondly remembered by the countless number of students and families she served there.

With most of Polly’s family living “down south”, her husband’s family became her adoptive family, and she was always a vital force in planning and participating in the annual Woods family Christmas party and other family events. The Woods family has decades of memories of Polly.

She continued to show devotion to family as a grandmother and great-grandmother. Among endless anecdotal stories that include receiving hand-knit "Mimi socks" every Christmas, coasting down her backyard hill on Haverhill St, tea parties and family dinners, her grandchildren laugh as they tell how they will always remember the story of when Mimi "beat up a boy when she was little." Despite beating up that boy, her kindness, compassion, and generosity will forever be remembered by all.

Family and friends are cordially invited to gather and share memories with Polly's Family on Tuesday, July 21st from 10 am - 12 pm at the Barile Family Funeral Home, 482 Main Street--(RT 28) STONEHAM. Parking attendants and an elevator are available.

A Funeral Service Celebrating Polly's Eternal Life will be held on Tuesday, July 21st at 12 pm in the Barile Family Funeral Home, 482 Main Street (RT 28) STONEHAM. Interment at Lindenwood Cemetery, Stoneham.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Polly's memory to the Greater Boston Food Bank.

For more information, www.facebook.com/BarileFamilyFuneralHome