John Joseph Cody, longtime resident of Hays, KS, died on July 11, 2016, at the age of 91.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dorothy Casto Cody, and their three children, Loren Shaiken and husband Mark of Denver, CO, Andrea Russell of Lake Oswego, OR, and Graham Cody and his wife Renee Lauber of Madison, WI. John also leaves behind 3 grandchildren, Zachary Shaiken, Ethan Russell, and Rowan Cody.
John was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 6, 1925 to Joseph Edward Cody and Ellen Langstaff Cody. He was the oldest of 6 children. His brother, Edwin Cody, and his sister, Eileen Keeler pre-deceased him. Surviving siblings are Evelyn McLean of Bethpage, NY, Genevieve Cody, of Brooklyn, NY, and Ellen Butler of Twinsburg, OH.
After living at his parent’s home until graduating from St. John’s University in Brooklyn NY, John’s professional life swung between art and science. As he described it, he chose “the most scientific form of art” when he became a medical illustrator after attending Johns Hopkins University’s Art as Applied to Medicine program in Baltimore, MD. In 1951 he then worked as staff artist on a scientific expedition in the jungle of Trinidad with famed naturalist, William Beebe. There began John’s love of traveling, which continued throughout his life.
Upon return to the States, he took a job as a medical illustrator in the Pathology Department at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, AR. While working there he met Dr. Dorothy Casto, who was completing a pediatric internship at the same hospital, and who became his wife in 1955. They had been married only months, when John, at age 30, decided that he wanted to go to medical school, and Dot agreed to support him to do so. He received an MD from the University of Arkansas Medical School in 1960. At that point he decided to pursue what he considered “the most artistic form of medicine” and become a psychiatrist. John completed a residency at the Menninger School of Psychiatry in Topeka, KS, and became a psychiatrist in 1964.
After a year at Larned State Hospital, John took a job as the first psychiatrist and medical director of the newly established High Plains Mental Health Clinic in Hays in 1965. Soon thereafter he became the executive director of the clinic.
He only expected to remain in Hays for a couple of years and then move back to the East Coast. That never happened because the family fell in love with Hays, and the family settled into the old limestone house built in 1867 that was the first house built in Hays. The Cody’s remodeled the house to incorporate an art studio above the garage, where John, an artist and author, could pursue his creative outlets.
John enjoyed many creative pursuits throughout his life. He wrote several books, including biographies of poet Emily Dickinson, composer Richard Wagner, and medical artist Max Broedel; art books on the topics of foreshortening, and anatomical drawing; and a coffee table book of his own paintings of the great silkmoths called “Wings of Paradise.” John loved working in his studio, painting his large, lovely, detailed, watercolor moth paintings that earned him the reputation as the “Audubon of moths,” referencing the bird artist, James Audubon who was an early influence in his art work. Some of John’s paintings have been donated to Fort Hays State University, and can be periodically viewed at the Sternberg Museum in Hays.
Cards may be sent to Dot Cody at Cedar View Assisted Living, 2929 Sternberg Dr., Hays, KS 67601. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hays Arts Council, 112 E. 11th St, Hays, KS 67601 or the High Plains Mental Health Center, 208 E. Seventh, Hays, KS 67601. Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601 is in charge of arrangements. Condolences can also be sent via e-mail to [email protected].