Darryl Adrienne Odum

Darryl Adrienne Odum, 75, of Baltimore, Maryland, departed this life on January 10, 2023. He was born to the union of Alexander Odum and Doris Christmas, in Mt. Winans, Maryland, on July 26, 1947. Darryl was the second child of five children born of this union.

Darryl was a very hard worker, starting with a paper route at age eleven. He was never without a job. In his teens, he was employed as a stock boy, busboy, dishwasher, janitor, laborer, and carpenters' helper. While at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, from 1965-1969, Darryl earned money in the summer and weekends as a carpenter and longshoreman. He even picked strawberries in the fields. Most of the strawberries were eaten, by him, when he was supposed to put them in the baskets. So he put gravel in the bottom of the basket so they would weigh more. After graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, he was immediately hired as a Construction Manager, building Federally Subsidized apartments for low income tenants in Frederick, Maryland. Over the next fifty-four years, Darryl remodeled and built many structures throughout the U.S. He helped to remodel the Pimleco Race track in Baltimore and received the honor of having a race, called the "Builder's Purse", named after him, for having completed the project ahead of schedule. Darryl was a trail blazer in his profession. During the 1960, 1970, and 1980's there were very few men of color in construction management positions. Because of his background in building construction, starting at the side of his father, Alexander, at a young age, and personally working at skills of construction as a laborer and apprentice, Darryl was often the only black manager hired by some of the major construction companies. For the next twenty years, Darryl worked for Chrysler Realty Construction, building auto dealerships in the Midwest and western part of the U.S. When Chryslerl was challenged with financial problems in the 1990's, they only retained two project managers in the Midwest and western U.S., and one of them was Darryl.

Darryl loved fixing and building things. He didn't hesitate to tell you how to fix or build something. His friends called him the 'smartest man in the world' because he always had an answer for everything. Darryl retired in 2013 as Director of Construction/Maintenance at Rancho Santiago Community College in Santa Ana, CA. He was always proud of his accomplishments. He loved pointing to a coke bottle on the Las Vegas Strip near the M.G.M. He loved telling how he used a large crane to horst materials over the pool of one hotel so the guests at the pool wouldn't be disturbed.

In 1963, while juniors in high school, Darryl met the love of his life, Freda. They dated for five years before getting married their junior year of college. Fifty-nine years as a devoted, loving couple. WOW! During their marriage, they lived in Baltimore, Maryland, Kansas City, Missouri, and Irvine, California for 40 years, and now Las Vegas, Nevada. From Darryl and Freda's union, two sons were born, Derrick Alexander and Ryan Bernard. Their sons are the true loves of their lives. Even though Darryl traveled for work during the week for several years, he never missed the guys sporting events on the weekends, often filming the events, even in the rain. The main lesson he strived to instill in his sons was how to be respectful to women, a loving husband, caring Dad, and a strong black man in this society.

Darryl and Freda loved to travel by car, ship, plane, and rail. They have visited most of the 50 United States, South America, many countries in the Caribbean, and Mediterranean, even Africa. Darryl was always the photographer. He has taken thousands of pictures, with his trusty Nikon. Other passions he had were cooking and eating. Darryl was very meticulous about how he prepared his food. Every ingredient was well seasoned and cooked with love. Then, let's eat!!! That was his favorite part.

Darryl, Dee, Dad, Pops, and Papi {all names he answered to}, leaves to cherish his memory, his wife of 54 years, Freda, sons Derrick and Ryan, grandchildren, Dominic, Jeremiah, Ryann, Mila, and Malik Darryl Odum, daughters-in-law, Ania and Meriem Odum, sister Sharon Richardson, brothers Vance and Oliver Odum, and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many dear friends. Darryl will be sorely missed.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmnorthwest.com for the Odum family.