John William Godbey Jr.

John was born in Sumter, South Carolina to Gertrude and John Godbey on April 3, 1942. He graduated from Edmunds High School in 1960. He attended Georgia Tech before joining the Peace Corps and serving in Morocco with his first wife, Lysbeth Bainbridge. In 1970 he earned his B.A. in Humanities at The New School for Social Research in New York City, and he was awarded his PhD in Philosophy from Duke University in 1974.

After teaching briefly, John spent his career working in procurement for the federal government. He later taught as an adjunct professor at Marymount University.

John was a devoted family man. He was a foodie before that term became popular, an early adopter of technology (and wrote reviews for Atari magazine), an aquatic gardener, hobby astronomer (and built a telescope), music lover, and a loyal Duke fan. He was as gentle as he was brilliant, and he was a friend to many.

John is preceded in death by his parents and his beloved sister, Gibson Godbey Tyler.

In addition to his wife, John is survived by his daughters, Rebecca Godbey Cummings and Caroline Godbey Kelley, and three grandchildren, Sean, Catherine and Conor Kelley. He is also survived by his son-in-law, Chris Cummings (and his daughter Alex), step-children Pam Perez, Patty Creel and John Hopp (and their children and grandchildren), niece Anne Seymour, and nephews Edward Bailey and Ralph Bailey.

The family will be having a small celebration of John’s life later in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting one of John’s long-time favorite charities, the United Negro College Fund or Doctors Without Borders, or any organization that lifts up people in need.

https://give.uncf.org/site/SPageNavigator/Donate.html

https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org