Wilmer Cody

1937 - 2021

Wilmer Cody
January 1, 1937 - November 8, 2021
Covington, Louisiana - Wilmer St. Clair Cody Jr passed away in Covington, Louisiana, on November 8, 2021, at the age of 84.
Cody was Superintendent of Schools in Chapel Hill from 1967 to 1971. He also served as a local superintendent in Birmingham AL and Montgomery County MD, and State Superintendent in both Louisiana and Kentucky. He served as a Board member at the National Assessment of Education Progress and at the Smithsonian Institute.
Cody was proud of his Harvard education, but he would often quip that "There is no such thing as 'higher' ed, there is only later ed." Once, during a job interview in Dallas, a right-wing board member asked him if he was a secular humanist. "Well, no," he said, "I'm an incompetent fisherman."
He did love fishing and hunting and was a crack wing shot. At various times he piloted a small plane, sailed on Chesapeake Bay, Mobile Bay, and Lake Pontchartrain, and built or rebuilt several wooden boats. He was a connoisseur of oysters.
Cody met his wife, Caroline Burns Cody, at high school choir practice. They were married for 58 years, until she passed away in 2016. He leaves his son David Cody, his daughter-in-law Sara Orton, his daughter Alison Cody, and many thousands of people who were a little bit better at reading, writing, mathematics, and getting along with others because of something he did.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages contributions to www.mobilebaykeeper.org. A memorial service will be held at Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church in New Orleans at 11:00 a.m. on April 22, 2022, but please check www.ejfieldingfh.com/obituaries/Wilmer-Cody/#!/Obituary for any updates or postponements. Those who knew him may post remembrances there as well.