Dr. T. Bodley Stites

Dr. Temple Bodley Stites, 91, of Louisville, KY, was born on September 6, 1931 and passed away on March 20, 2023. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend and doctor.
Bodley grew up in Old Louisville before moving to the Highlands after the flood of 1937. He attended Male High School before graduating from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. He graduated from Williams College in 1953, then completed his medical degree at Columbia University. He served as an Army doctor in Korea then returned to New York for his internal medicine residency. He returned home to serve our community as a physician for forty years.
A whirlwind three-year courtship of "Sister" Kemp followed. He won her heart creating a model of the solar system on the ceiling of her third grade classroom. They married on August 24, 1968. Sister and Bodley skied with friends, toured England by bicycle, and walked Harbour Island's beaches with his siblings and their spouses. While maintaining a busy solo medical practice, he was remarkably present to his children, playing tennis, chess, charades and spud. Each year we went to sleep on Christmas Eve with an empty corner only to find a fully decorated tree the next morning.
Despite a Parkinson's Disease diagnosis, retirement allowed time for play, world travel and study. Bodley and Sister would hop on the golf course for four holes of golf many summer evenings. He maintained a tennis group for years. He loved to play and teach bridge. He was our clos_r for the crossword puzzle. Ever curious, Bodley studied the Historical Jesus and was converted politically by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. He tended to knee-high piles of accumulated medical journals and other articles in his study, perhaps hoping to find another familial stash of letters from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In the tradition of his childhood summers, Pops and Teeta would gather the growing family in Leland, MI.
Bodley served a term as President of Norton Hospital Medical Staff, was on the board of the Kentucky Opera, and was on the Pastor Nominating Committee at Second Presbyterian Church. In 2018, after 48 years, they moved from their Bauhaus Mockingbird Valley home to Meadow at Masonic Home.
With dry wit Bodley would spice up long long dinners. He wrote poems to commemorate life's milestones. Ever an aspiring painter, he appreciated art including Japanese scrolls, the Speed Museum, covers of the New Yorker, and Starry Night by Van Gogh. A lifelong opera lover, he had broad musical taste which included disco. He loved singing with his siblings and dancing "like no one was watching." He will be sorely missed.
Bodley was preceded in death by his parents, James Walker Stites and Edith Bodley Stites, and his siblings James Walker Stites, Jr. and Ellen Stites Thurber (Peter). He is survived by Virginia Kemp Stites, his wife of 54 years; their children Chenoweth Stites Allen (Tyler), Temple Bodley Stites, Jr. (Lucie), and Thomas Pennington Stites (Ryann); their grandchildren Hannah Harcourt Allen, Elijah Nolen Allen, Samuel Stites Allen, Lucas Kemp Stites, William Watson Stites, Fox Pennington Stites, and Chase Manoussoff Stites. He is survived by his brother William Fosdick Stites, sisters-in-law Mary and Mimi, and many delightful nieces and nephews.
A celebratory visitation will be held at Meadow, 140 Masonic Home Drive, from 3-5pm on Sunday, March 26th. A brief visitation will be held from 10-11am on Monday March 27th, before an 11am funeral service at Second Presbyterian Church, 3701 Old Brownsboro Road. A private family burial will follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to Kentucky Opera at 708 Magazine St, Louisville, KY 40203 or The Healing Place at 1020 W. Market Street, Louisville, KY 40202.
Arrangements under the direction of Pearson's, "Where Louisville Goes to Remember."