Dell and Gerin Hood recognized for outstanding contributions

In a memorable gathering of the Wimberley Valley Library Board of Trustees and staff, family, friends, well-wishers and the mayors of Wimberley and Woodcreek, Dell and Gerin Hood were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Wimberley library. Both Wimberley and Woodcreek mayors proclaimed January 17, 2026 as “Dell and Gerin Hood Day” in their respective communities.

On December 31, Dell retired his dual role as president of the library’s Board of Trustees as well as serving as a trustee. He held the role of trustee president for more than a decade. He began cataloging in 1995, joining the governing District Board of Trustees in 2005. Both he and his wife Gerin were active supporters of the library’s recent expansion and renovation. “Without Dell’s steady leadership on the Board of Trustees, it is doubtful the complex project could have been accomplished,” said Board Trustee Dennis Lee, who organized the event.

The Hood’s are among the library’s first Legacy Donors, pledging to donate at least one percent of their estate. Dell authored the book, “Wimberley Village Library, The First 50 Years,” published in 2024, which coincided with the library’s fiftieth anniversary. Written with the encouragement and editing skills of Gerin, it serves as the definitive compilation of the library’s history. Gerin became involved in Inter- Library Loan processing in 1994.

Surprise guests to the event included the Hood’s daughter Jennifer Hood from Ft. Worth, brother and sister-in-law Peter and Jane Hackley of Austin, sister Katie Hackley of Houston, nieces Shannon Hackley of San Francisco, Allison Gahrmann of North Carolina, and Darby James from Portland and nephew Mark Lee and his wife Lea Anne of Bastrop.

Wimberley Village Library Director Carolyn Manning, Youth Services Beth Jordan, Marketing and Adult Programs Nomi González, and Circulation Desk Assistant Karen Smith were also on hand for the reception. Wimberley Mayor Jim Chiles and former Woodcreek Mayor Jeff Rasco personally delivered the proclamations. Newly elected Woodcreek Mayor Debra Hines could not attend the event.

The Hood’s involvement with the library followed Dell’s extensive professional career with the Peace Corps and U.S. Information Agency. After earning a degree in Russian Literature, Dell served with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia. After his tour, he returned to Austin and married Gerin in 1964. They met while attending UT Austin. Their daughter Jennifer was born in 1965.

Shortly afterwards, the U.S. Information Agency recruited Dell to work in Addis Ababa and Chad. Once the family was back in Maryland, the family welcomed a second daughter, Beckett.

In 1971, Dell had the unusual mission of escorting the moon rock through eight African countries. The family moved to Nigeria where Dell served as the sole American diplomat. In 1973, the family moved to Arlington, VA where Dell underwent 12 months of Vietnamese language training for a new deployment to Saigon. Four months into that assignment as conditions in the country deteriorated, Gerin and their young girls were evacuated to live with family in Alvin, TX while Dell stayed behind help the embassy to shut down.

After accepting a new assignment in Guyana, he was later reassigned to Liberia in 1977. Unstable conditions in the country forced the family to return stateside where they remained until 1982.

Dell’s next assignment was Yugoslavia. He set the USIA record for mastering the language in nine months. Daughter Beckett, who had inherited her father’s facility for language, mastered the Serbo-Croatian language in about six months. Daughter Jennifer moved to Austin to attend UT.

In 1986, Dell, Gerin and Beckett moved to London where Beckett graduated from the American High School. She moved to Austin to attend UT and in 1990, Dell and Gerin returned to Arlington, VA. They learned that work in Addis Ababa was available and in 1992 they returned to Ethiopia, giving them the opportunity to catch up with old friends. In 1995, Dell officially retired.

That same year, with some 50 addresses in 62 years, the Hoods became Wimberley residents. While rarely working outside the home, Gerin was an active volunteer with many organizations at home and abroad, and hosted a long list of diplomatic events.

Soon after they began volunteering for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Wimberley library. Tragically, in 1996, Beckett died in a motorcycle accident in Austin, at the age of 25.

”It is our hope that Dell and Gerin will continue to serve our library in some capacity for many years to come, but they have earned their rest if they choose otherwise,” said Lee. “We wish them well in whatever they choose to do, and thank them effusively for what they have already done for the library and the people of Wimberley.”