Beloved mother and Mimi, Joan “Jodi” Wilson, age 79, of Wilmington, Delaware and formerly of Baltimore, Maryland, passed away on Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by family. She graduated from Roland Park Country School in Baltimore, Maryland in 1961 where she was raised by her parents William and Pauline McDorman. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology from Salem College in Winston Salem North Carolina in 1965 and her graduate degree from West Virginia University in 1968. She later earned a second graduate degree from Wilmington College in school counseling.
Jodi had a huge heart and always had time to listen to others’ concerns and problems . These qualities were the cornerstone for her life’s work. She started off her career as a social worker, followed by her work with Child Inc where she worked with runaways and teens with substance abuse problems. She then became a guidance counselor for the Brandywine School District with the majority of her career at P.S.DuPont Elementary School, followed by her work at Mount Pleasant Elementary. Jodi loved working with kids and helping them through their problems. She changed the lives of many for the better and helped children and adults cope with many life changing events.
Jodi was a breast cancer survivor of 36 years, 26 years with a stage four diagnosis. She never gave up fighting and was the definition of strength. She never let her diagnosis determine how she lived her life and continued to live as if she never had a diagnosis at all. Many around her often forgot that she had cancer due to her zest for life and fun loving nature. She was grateful for and found joy in every day and she believed in “loving each day, taking nothing for granted, and never underestimating your power to effect change in your life, the life of others, and in the world”.
She is survived by her three children and five grandchildren. Family was everything to Jodi. She took pride in her three kids, Dan, Mac and Bonnie, but they didn’t hold a candle next to her five grandchildren, Molly, Nate, Shane, Zoey, and Riley, who were the lights of her life. She spent as much time with her family as she could and one of her favorite things to do was spoil her grandchildren. The grandchildren adored their Mimi and always knew they could get whatever they wanted at Mimi’s house.
Jodi’s favorite place was her beach house in Ocean City, Maryland where she spent much of her free time on the weekends and the off season and took joy in watching her grandchildren play on the beach. She also loved to travel and took many trips cross country, as well as to Italy, Ireland, Bermuda, Florida, the Bahamas, and many other destinations. Jodi was an inspiration to those around her and she brought “life” to countless situations over her lifetime. She is loved by so many and we will all carry her “full of life” spirit in our hearts forever.
Friends may call on Thursday, May 18th from 4-7 PM at Chandler Funeral Home, 2506 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803. Funeral Service will be held at Chandler Funeral Home at 7:30 PM following the viewing. Memorial contributions can be made to Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Jodi Wilson may be directed to support Antonio Wolff (breast cancer research) at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Please make checks payable to Johns Hopkins University. Gifts may be mailed with a memo indicating that this gift is in memory of Jodi Wilson to the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, P.O. Box 49143, Baltimore, MD 21297-9143 or make a gift online at hopkinscancer.org.
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