Marjorie Cody

CODY, Marjorie MARJORIE LEWIS CODY Marjorie Lewis Cody, 97, of Atlanta , died on October 20th, 2012, grateful to the end for a life surrounded by loving family. Born October 22, 1914 in New York City to Earl Raymond Lewis and Carolyn Reis, she remained a proud New Yorker throughout her life. She graduated from St. Agatha School for Girls, attended NYU and graduated from Katharine Gibbs after which she went to work for Wilfred Pelletier, the french conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. Here her lifetime love of music and her facility for languages were nurtured. She spoke Italian, German, and French fluently. Assisting with the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and the Chase and Sanborn Hour at NBC, she found the new world of radio fascinating in its early years. New York was to her an "endless kaleidoscope of people and events" and she attributed her many years of good health to a youth spent walking everywhere in the city, to the fresh sea air and to ice skating on the weekends. Traveling with the Metropolitan Opera to Atlanta in 1940, she met attorney Welborn Cody, who successfully won her heart. They were married in 1942, and Marjorie spent the war years as a translator and volunteer typing letters and case histories for wounded soldiers at Lawson General Army Hospital in Atlanta. After the war she settled into a life devoted to her husband, her only child, Carolyn, and to teaching Sunday School to the youth at North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Here she became one of the first women elders and continued to worship for 70 years. She and her husband, both highly competitive athletes, enjoyed golf together and traveled extensively until his sudden death in 1976. A lifetime learner, she was an avid reader of history and a devout student of the Bible. She enjoyed the challenge of bridge which she continued to play with her daughter until a few months before her death. She remained an active member in the Nineteenth Century History Class, the Piedmont Driving Club, and the Capital City Club. The joy of her later years was to be surrounded by her family. She adored her three grandchildren and felt particularly blessed to celebrate the arrival of the 7 great grandchildren. Mrs. Cody was predeceased by her sister, Helen Germaine Pittman of Los Angeles. She is survived by her daughter Carolyn and son-in-law William McClatchey; grandsons Cody McClatchey (Missy) of Atlanta and William McClatchey, Jr. (Donna) of Raleigh , N.C.; granddaughter Christine Gituku (Fredrick) of Atlanta; great grandchildren Caroline and Hadley McClatchey, Abigail, Sarah Curtis and Will McClatchey, and William and Marjorie Gituku. She is also survived by 2 nieces and 2 nephews: Leila Taratus and Harry Thompson of Atlanta, Germaine Ostridge of Chicago, and Warren Pittman of Greensboro, NC. Her family is grateful for the kindness and shared prayers of her caregiver, Crystal Hosey, this past year. Following a private burial at Westview Cemetery, a service of celebration for her life will held at North Avenue Presbyterian Church at 11 am on Saturday, October 27th, Dr. Scott Weimer officiating. The family will receive friends in the church parlor after the service. In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be made to the North Avenue Presbyterian Church Capital Fund, 607 Peachtree Sf. NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30308 .