William H. Cody, 88

December 12, 2019

William H. Cody, 88, of Lancaster, former editor of the Intelligencer Journal, died Thursday, December 12, 2019, after a three-year battle with cancer.
Born in New Haven, Conn., he was the son of the late Henry T. and Mary Oswald Cody. He was raised in the Catholic faith. He was the husband of the late Joyce Bell Cody of Portsmouth, Va., with whom he was married one month shy of 50 years.

Cody worked 35 years for the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster Newspapers, now LNP. He was promoted and served as editor of the Intell in 1988 until his retirement in 1997. While, editor, the Intell reached a daily circulation of 50,000 and celebrated its 200th year in 1994. Among the major local stories he helped to cover were Hurricane Agnes and its aftermath in 1972, the Three Mile Island Nuclear accident in 1979, and the billion-dollar fraud and collapse of International Signal and Control in the late 1980s and into the 1990s.

Cody began his journalism career when he was 12, joining the Boys Brigade, an organization in New Haven supervised by veterans returning from World War II. He wrote and edited its publication, The Brigadier.

After graduating from Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Cody enrolled in the University of Connecticut, where he attended classes for a year and a half before enlisting in the United States Army. He was trained in tank warfare at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he also wrote for the base newspaper. The opportunity to take courses at the Armed Forces Information School in New Rochelle, N.Y., inspired him to make journalism a career. However, the Army needed soldiers to man tanks and he was sent to the Korean War as a tank crewman and commander in the 64th Tank Battalion. While in Korea, Sgt. 1st Class Cody was transferred to the 3rd Infantry’s Public Information section where he served as section chief. Cody was awarded the Bronze Star for his battlefield reporting of combat in the military newspapers Stars and Stripes and The Army Times.
Cody extended his tour of duty a few months in Korea when he was selected one of five enlisted men to interview American prisoners of war released from communist North Korea after the truce.

After leaving the Army, Cody worked as a reporter for the New Haven Register while waiting to enroll at Marquette University in Milwaukee to study journalism. After graduating, he took a job as reporter and editor for the 6,000-circulation daily newspaper Galion Inquirer in Ohio. Cody took the job as assistant city editor for the Lynchburg (Va.) News in 1961 and was proud to have desegregated the obituary page. In 1962, he moved his family to Lancaster to become the wire editor for the Intelligencer Journal. Cody was promoted to assistant city editor and then city editor in 1967. He was named editor of the Intell in 1988. During his tenure, Cody helped transition the Intell from hot-metal type to cold type to full computerization and pagination. He was also the leader and pitcher for the Intell’s softball team for many years.

Cody was active in many local organizations including serving on local boards of the American Heart Association, Lancaster Aquatic Club, Big Brothers and Sisters of Lancaster County and was a volunteer with the Lancaster County Office of Aging and as a tax preparer with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA). He was the AMVET Post 19 “Man of the Year” in 1980. He served many years, two as president, with Camp Cadet, a camping and training program designed by state and local police to give young people a positive relationship with law enforcement.

Cody grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, but transitioned to a Philadelphia sports fan during his years in Lancaster. He was a regular at many Conestoga Valley, Lancaster Country Day, and youth sporting events, cheering on his children and grandchildren in football, basketball, baseball, soccer, cross country, swimming, tennis and lacrosse. He was a big fan of Marquette basketball.

Cody is survived by four children: Stephen, husband of Sharon; David, husband of Kathy; Douglas, husband of Kelly; and Susan Finnegan. Also, eight grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Joshua, Laura, Nathan, Sarah, Matthew, Thomas and Christopher; and a brother, the Rev. Henry P. Cody of Naugatuck, Conn. He was preceded in death by a brother, Richard Cody, of North Haven, Conn.

The family would like to express gratitude to the many caregivers from By Your Side Home Care and Hospice & Community Care for their kindness and compassion. We would also like to thank Dr. Spencer Phillips, Dr. Samuel Kerr, and their staffs for the wonderful care they provided.

Family and friends will be received from 6PM to 8PM, Thursday, December 19, 2019 at Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory, 3110 Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA 17543. A Funeral Service will be held at 11AM, Friday, December 20, 2019 at the funeral home, with a viewing from 10AM to 11AM. Interment with Red Rose Military Honors will follow at Conestoga Memorial Park, Lancaster.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Camp Cadet of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania State Police Troop J, 2099 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, PA 17602.