Author was also a state worker, military veteran and Secret Service agent

Mar. 13—When Brett F. Wood died March 5 of colorectal cancer, he left behind a varied legacy that makes defining him by profession a challenge.

He was a soldier, a Secret Service agent, a deputy U.S. Marshal, a horse trader, a teacher, a legislative analyst, a novelist and a state employee who dipped his professional fingers into the workings of four or five New Mexico agencies over the years.

And he loved animals, including "The Tweet," as he dubbed a small bird that made a nest by the front door of his Santa Fe home. No one could dare trouble The Tweet, said Woods' wife, Helen Gaussoin.

"He'd make people go out a different door so they wouldn't disturb the bird," she said. " 'Don't bother The Tweet,' he said."

Woods was born March 27, 1948, in Houston, his wife said. His father served in the U.S. Army during World War II "so the military was probably at the back of his head," Gaussoin said.

Woods enlisted in the U.S. Army in the mid-1960s and served as a medic in the Green Berets, providing medical care for his own troops and those living in Vietnamese villages.

"He'd talk about working with the Montagnard tribesmen and bringing kids in from the field but he didn't talk about being shot at or anything like that," she said. "There was some darkness but not a lot of darkness."

Fate seemed to smile on Woods even in dangerous jungle terrain. He told his wife about the time he overslept one morning and missed a military helicopter flight he was supposed to be on. The copter went down and everyone onboard was killed.

Woods did not seem to run from danger but rather sprint toward adventurous opportunity. While earning a bachelor's degree in law enforcement and political science from Sam Houston State University in Texas, he worked as a deputy U.S. Marshal and later as a special agent with the Secret Service, where he "investigated counterfeiters and other financial fraudsters," according to his obituary, which he wrote before his death, his wife said.

"He led this incredibly adventurous life," Gaussoin said.

Woods moved to New Mexico in the late 1980s and quickly got a job in state government. Among other agencies, he worked in different capacities for the Human Services Department, the Gaming Control Board and the Energy, Minerals and National Resources Department.

"He was such a colorful, amazing guy," said former Legislative Finance Committee Deputy Director Cathy Fernandez. She said Woods liked to "hold court" for younger analysts, for whom he served as a "good mentor; he set such a good example about work ethic."

She said while Woods could be "gruff" on the outside, people knew he had a "soft side because he had a lot of cats and dogs, always rescues."

His interest in the under-the-radar activities of government agencies led him to write spy novels, including Autley House: A Spy Story. He never let up on his interest in seeing what was going on behind the scenes, as he proved to Fernandez when he told her one of his children had bought him an outdoor security camera.

He installed it under the outdoor deck to see what the wildlife were up to, Fernandez recalled with a laugh.

"He would tell me stories about the mice and the rabbits and this critter eating this critter and he was fascinated with that circle-of-life theme," she said.

Gaussoin said Woods will be interred with military honors at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

She wrote in a follow-up email The Tweet has not been seen since the day Woods died.