Obituary of Myrtle S. Bodin

Myrtle E. Bodin, of Schenectady, passed away peacefully in the comfort of her own home on October 23rd 2010, surrounded by her family. She was 94 years old. Born on April 4th, 1916, Myrtle was the youngest of six surviving children belonging to Frank and Delia Smith. She graduated from the now defunct Pleasant Valley high school in 1934. During WWII, she worked as a sales clerk at Barney's in Schenectady, and briefly posed as a hand model for Vogue magazine. She married William Harold Bodin on August 20th, 1938, and the two were happily married for 51 years until Harold's death in 1989. Myrtle is survived by daughter Deborah Davis and son-in-law Dennis Davis, of Schenectady, and by granddaughter Maura Bodin Davis, currently residing in Tokyo, Japan. Those are the facts. But facts cannot define a person, and a list of names, dates and places simply don't do Myrtle justice. They don't speak to her beauty, wisdom, or quirky sense of humor. They can't stand testament to the bold strength of character that defined her as a person, or convey the heavenly flavor of her homemade pie crust. Myrtle loved to dance, loved to sew, loved baking and crossword puzzles and the New York Yankees. She was beautiful, but never vain. She was a dreamer - forever earning herself a scolding from her teachers for having her head in the clouds, but with a natural intelligence that kept her in their good graces. She loved to travel, and she and her husband Harold took frequent trips to England and Bermuda. Born in an era when women did not often do for themselves, Myrtle never failed to speak her mind or challenge herself; though a wife and homemaker for most of her life, she was an equal match for her husband's strong and charismatic personality. She was vital and independent well into her late 80's. She was Myrtle, she was Mom, she was Grammie. Hers was not a life full of statistics, but one full of passion, joy and love. The story of a life cannot be abridged to fit into a single newspaper column - but one that she used to tell me will fit just fine: "I'll tell you a story, about Jack-and-the-Nory, and now my story's begun. I'll tell you another, 'bout Jack and his brother, and now my story is done." Rest in Peace, Grammie.