Lelia Allen Davenport

Lelia, the only child of Fred Allen Davenport (1935-2015) and his wife Catherine Raper Davenport (1934-2005), was born in Columbia, North Carolina on August 16, 1962. She was the namesake for her paternal grandmother, Lelia Leona Allen Davenport (1892-1976).

After graduation from Plymouth High School in 1980, Lelia earned a BS in Biology and a BA in Chemistry from Meredith College in 1984 followed by an MBA from East Carolina University in 1990. Lelia began a nearly 40-year career in pharmaceutical research and development at Burroughs Wellcome in Greenville, North Carolina. Over the course of her career she held positions with increasing responsibility in analytical chemistry, regulatory affairs, and project management with pharmaceutical companies while living in Atlanta, Georgia, Rochester, New York, Chicago, Illinois, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She returned to North Carolina in 1999, and spent the remainder of her career with PPD, retiring in December 2021 as Vice-President, Process and Systems Optimization.

In 2008, Lelia married Herbert Martin Rodell who preceded her in death on April 17, 2025. She was embraced and greatly blessed by his family whom she dearly loved and who survive her, including Herb's children Jon (April) Rodell of Atlanta, Georgia; Mark (Toni) Rodell of Birmingham, Alabama; Paul (Janet) Rodell of Louisville, Kentucky and Martha (Kevin) Stilwell of Raleigh, NC; fourteen grandchildren Liz (Dom), Matt, Whitney (Mike), Lauren (Jared), Wil (Holly), Maddie (Mike), Haley, Ben, Hannah, Jonah, Jonson, Sadie (Colby), Pierce, and Hughes; and nine great grandchildren Brooklyn, Amelia, Sophie, Trey, Grady, Ty, Elle, Malachi and Camden. She is also survived by her beloved aunt Rose Mallard Raper along with several cousins and life-long friends. In addition to her parents and husband, Lelia was preceded in death by Herb's grandson, Luke Stilwell (1999-2022).

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Lelia's memory are encouraged to consider a donation to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, 14600 Weston Parkway, Cary, North Carolina 27513 or to The Summit Church, 2335 Presidential Dr., Durham, NC 27703-8063.