In Memory . . . Rev. Margaret Odell (1912-2007)

It is with a sense of loss that the Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group informs you of the death of the Reverend Margaret Odell. She died on May 28, 2007 following a stroke. She was 94 years of age.

Reverend Odell was born October 3, 1912 in Spokane, Washington. She received a BS from Syracuse University in 1932; a MRE from Boston University in 1934, and in 1983, Starr King School for the Ministry awarded her an honorary STD. 

She entered Fellowship in April 1971 and was ordained June 5, 1971 by the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Reverend Odell served congregations as a religious educator in Wellesley Hills, and Worcester, Massachusetts; Philadelphia (Germantown), Pennsylvania; Princeton, New Jersey; Alexandria (Mount Vernon) and Reston, Virginia; and Columbia, Maryland. In addition, she was an educational consultant in the Ohio-Meadville District from 1968 to 1977. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, Maryland named her Emerita Minister in 1983.

A tireless advocate for religious education, she participated in the organizing meeting of the Liberal Education Directors Association (now the Liberal Religious Educators Association) and served as its president from 1953-1955. In 1974 she was awarded the Angus MacLean award for excellence in religious education in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field. 

Reverend Odell leaves no survivors. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia and a few long-time friends are her family. Messages of remembrance may be sent to: 

The Rev. Paige Getty
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia
7246 Cradlerock Way
Columbia, MD 21045-5048

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, July 8, 2007, 1:30 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD 21045. The Reverend Paige Getty will officiate.

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