Sister Jean Patrick Cody, CSJ

We celebrate the life of Patricia Clare Cody, beloved daughter of Walter and Lucy Cody, sister to Bruce and known to us as our sister Jean Patrick Cody.

From a very young age Pat had a curious mind and was an avid reader, attributes she later shared with her students and friends along with the latest scientific discoveries which deepened her sense of awe of God’s creation. Her love of nature and discovery was nurtured by her mother who regularly brought her to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Public Library. It was in the beauty of the garden that Pat experienced her call to religious life; for her God was both transcendent and immanent.

While born and raised in Brooklyn her early ministry of elementary education had her venture to Our Lady of Victory in Floral Park and across the bridge to St. Francis de Sales in Belle Harbor. Her love of science brought her back to Brooklyn to teach high school biology; first at her alma mater St. Francis Xavier Academy, later at St. Joseph’s High School and Fontbonne Hall Academy with a side trip to Academia San Jose in Puerto Rico. The fact that Jean Patrick did not speak Spanish did not matter, for she spoke the language of the heart.

Known as a gentle woman who valued community, she gave witness to the interdependence of relationships that are needed to create community. Perhaps it was her understanding of the biosphere and desire to keep a low carbon footprint, but along with the sisters she lived in community with, a conscious decision was made not to have a car. For Jean Patrick if you are interdependent and live in Brooklyn you join with the community on buses and subways, to go beyond the borough she would contact sisters and share a ride; she never missed an opportunity to cultivate and connect community.

After leaving the classroom, Jean Patrick continued her lifelong concern for those struggling and those on the margins. She volunteered at Our Lady of the Angels Parish Outreach office where she was happy to do whatever was needed and brought delight and levity to the staff when they needed a little lift. In her walks around the Bay Ridge neighborhood, she got to know who enjoyed a good chat and who needed a listening ear. Her faith was shown and known through her encounters.

As people of faith, we believe we live in God and that death is another transformation into another way of existing in God.

As we listen to Isaiah’s hymn of Thanksgiving let us too give thanks for the many ways Jean Patrick’s life touched ours.

We give thanks for the generosity of her loving, an outpouring of God’s love in human form.

We give thanks for her faithfulness, a mirror to us of God’s constant presence with us.

We give thanks for her laughter and sense of fun and delight in life, the Breath of Life moved freely in her.

We give thanks for the ways Jean Patrick nurtured, encouraged, supported, giving hope to so many, truly, God was here among us.

We pray that the Spirit of Life that moved so wonderfully in Jean Patrick’s life will find hopeful and generous expression in our lives.

As a grateful community of sisters, family and friends we celebrate Jean Patrick’s life.

Sister Jean Patrick Cody, CSJ died on May 22, 2019 in the 68th year of her religious life.