Annie Odessa Boddie Holt

Annie “Odessa” Boddie Holt, age 91, died on Wednesday, Sept. 28th in Birmingham surrounded by family. She was born Sept. 19, 1925, in Elmore County. After graduating from Wetumpka High School she accepted a scholarship to business school. Once her courses were completed, she married Charles Truman Holt in 1943. She worked for Western Union during World War II in Jacksonville, Fla., and Little Rock, Ark., before returning to Montgomery where she began her career in real estate. Odessa was a founding member of the Women’s Council of Realtors (WCR). She served as the WCR state president and was recognized as the WCR Realtor of the Year for Alabama by the National Association of Realtors in 1990. She also served as president of America’s Business Women’s Association (ABWA) and was appointed by the Montgomery City Council to the Clean City Commission. She continued her career in Birmingham until she later retired from Brigham Williams.

Odessa was preceded in death by her parents, Homer Lee and Pauline Colley Boddie, her brother, Winston Boddie, and her sisters, Juanita Boddie, Nell Gantt, and Rebecca Hall. She is survived by her sister Kathleen Holt of Wetumpka, and brother Joe Boddie of Birmingham; her four children Michael (Brenda) Holt of Birmingham, Paulette (Tom) Johnson of North Myrtle Beach, SC, Cindy (Tom) O’Neil of St. Augustine, Fla., and Amy (Mike) Echols of Tuscaloosa; as well as 10 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, and friends who loved her dearly. She leaves her family a legacy of love, passed to her from her own parents.

Visitation will be held at Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Birmingham at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8th, followed by funeral services at 11:00 a.m. and graveside service at New Home Baptist Church in Titus at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Cemetery Fund at New Home Baptist Church or the New Life Singers at Lakeside Baptist Church.