Wendyce Hull Brody

1947 - 2021

Wendyce Hull Brody, 74, known as Wendy, passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of the morning on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021, while visiting her grandchildren in Lake Placid, NY.

Above all, Wendy will be remembered for her warm and friendly nature, her selfless devotion to others, her phenomenal athleticism in sports such as tennis, skiing, hiking and road cycling, and her dedication to charitable organizations. She carried herself with grace, always wearing her signature red lipstick – even while tackling a challenging wilderness hike. She was a loving, hands-on mother and grandmother, and her grandchildren will deeply miss their beloved Nana.

Wendy was born on January 28, 1947 in Fresno, CA. After battling a severe childhood episode of meningitis, she moved with her family to Stockton, CA where she spent the rest of her childhood. She attended Stagg High School where she was an athlete, a student council officer, a song girl, and a homecoming princess. She learned to ski on trips with her family to the mountains around Lake Tahoe, CA; Wendy would later return to these mountains, spending summer and winter vacations and hosting friends and family at her home in Alpine Meadows. During her undergraduate education at Mills College in Oakland, CA, she studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France, an experience that informed her lifelong love of art, music, food, and travel. After graduating with a degree in economics in 1968, she married her Stockton neighbor William R. Brody, known as Bill, and moved to Palo Alto, CA where he completed his MD and PhD at Stanford, followed by brief stints in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA.

Wendy's career as an economist included work at SRI in Palo Alto and the Social Security Administration in Washington DC. While there, in 1974, she authored a classic study titled 'The Economic Value of a Housewife' that was used to compute the economic contribution of people who were not directly in the workforce. After that she worked at University of California San Francisco under Phil Lee, former U.S. Health and Human Services Director.

For the next 10 years, Wendy and Bill lived in Palo Alto, where she was a co-founder of Gamble Garden and a member of The Garden Club of Palo Alto along with other community groups.

Wendy and Bill moved to Baltimore, MD in 1987, where Bill became Chairman of Radiology at Johns Hopkins University, followed by thirteen years as President of Johns Hopkins University from 1996-2009. During this time, Wendy served as a University Representative, hosting numerous groups of students, professors and dignitaries at their home on the Hopkins campus. She also served as a docent and Board member of the Walters Museum and a volunteer at a local school library. After Bill's retirement they moved to La Jolla, CA where Bill became President of the Salk Institute. Johns Hopkins built the Brody Learning Commons, dedicated to Bill and Wendy's contributions to the University, in 2012.

While living in La Jolla, Wendy was a Board member of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and the La Jolla Music Society. She did volunteer work at the Torrey Pines State Nature Reserve and at the University of California San Diego Cancer Garden. She was a member of the Village Garden Club of La Jolla as well as St James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. She also served on the Board of Directors of Mills College from 2006 to 2016. After her divorce from Bill, Wendy moved into the White Sands community of La Jolla.

Wendy is survived by her daughter Ingrid Brody Bateman of New York, NY, and her son John Brody of Alpine Meadows, CA, as well as her son-in-law, Justin Bateman, and grandchildren William, Elina and Isla Bateman. She also is survived by two sisters, Christine Georgeson of Chattanooga, TN, Helen Hull of Sacramento, CA, and a brother, Tupper Hull of Sacramento, CA.

A memorial service will be held in early January in La Jolla, California; for details please contact whb.celebration@gmail.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name at the Torrey Pines Conservancy: https://www.torreypines.org/donate/wendybrody/.