Notes for: James ("Jim") Forney Bodine
From Ronny Bodine (August 28, 2022):
From Hennepin County, Minnesota Marriage Records:
James F. Bodine AND Jean G. Guthrie were married 25 June 1949.
James Bodine served in World War II in an Army artillery unit and spent 18 months in the Philippines after the war handling claims from landowners whose property had been confiscated. He earned a B.A. from Yale, 1944; an MBA from Harvard, 1948. Mr. Bodine spent 30 years working at First Pennsylvania Bank. He began there in 1948, rose through the executive ranks, became president in 1972, and retired from the bank in 1978. During his banking career, Mr. Bodine became well-known as an activist who worked to improve living conditions for the poor. In 1979, Gov. Dick Thornburgh of Pennsylvania appointed James Bodine secretary of commerce, a position he used to promote legislation to help small businesses hire people in communities with high unemployment. He was buried in the churchyard of Christ Church in Philadelphia. See his obituary in the Philadelphia "Inquirer" of 24 June 2005. Jean (Guthrie) Bodine is the daughter of Murray Kenneth and Ruth (Murray) Guthrie.
Obituary, the Philadelphia Inquirer of 24 June 2005.
James F. Bodine, 84, former president of the First Pennsylvania Bank, the nation's oldest bank, and a former state secretary of commerce and one of Philadelphia's most prominent business and civic leaders from the 1970s through the 1990s, died Monday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Mr. Bodine died as a result of choking on June 6 while dining in a restaurant, which left him hospitalized and in a coma.
A resident of Society Hill since 1981, Mr. Bodine was born into a wealthy Main Line family, the son of the president of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., but he lived by a credo that business was not just business.
He believed that, in addition to making money, corporations had responsibilities to their communities, and he devoted much of his life to bridging gaps between corporate suites and the poor streets of the city.
Mr. Bodine spent 30 years working at First Pennsylvania Bank. He began there in 1948, rose through the executive ranks, became president in 1972, and retired from the bank in 1978.
During his banking career, Mr. Bodine became well-known as an activist who worked to improve living conditions for the poor.
He also persuaded other high-ranking businessmen to become involved in social issues.
Since the 1950s, the city's most powerful business group had been the Greater Philadelphia Movement, made up of leaders of major companies. Mr. Bodine believed the group was ignoring many of the city's human problems.
In 1971, he and several others formed the Philadelphia Partnership, a maverick organization with racially diverse members including executives, academics and community leaders - both men and women.
The two organizations eventually merged and became known as the Greater Philadelphia Partnership, with Mr. Bodine as its managing partner. Its aim was to involve business leaders in problems of poverty, discrimination and economic development.
Mr. Bodine was most proud of the group's Philadelphia Mortgage Plan, which did away with "redlining" that disqualified people in poor sections of the city from obtaining home mortgages.
"The mortgage plan became a national model, and redlining was effectively ended in much of the country," said the Rev. William A. Gray 3d, a former congressman, head of the United Negro College Fund, and minister of Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia. "By the 1980s, other cities were just beginning to follow the example of reinvesting set by Jim Bodine."
In 1979, Gov. Dick Thornburgh appointed Mr. Bodine secretary of commerce, a position he used to promote legislation to help small businesses hire people in communities with high unemployment.
In more recent years, Mr. Bodine worked with the Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition - a successor organization to the Greater Philadelphia Partnership. He also was vice chairman of United Bank, Philadelphia's only African American-owned bank.
Mr. Bodine graduated from Episcopal Academy, St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H., Yale University, and Harvard University, where he earned a master's degree in business in 1948.
He served in World War II in an Army artillery unit and spent 18 months in the Philippines after the war handling claims from landowners whose property had been confiscated. While serving in the Army, he told an interviewer in 2000, he met and befriended people of all backgrounds and came to the conclusion that "all people were just as good as the rich."
Mr. Bodine is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jean Guthrie Bodine; daughters Tracy Bodine Lee, Jane and Marnie; son Murray; four grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Christ Church, Second Street above Market Street. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Donations may be made to Metropolitan Career Center, 62 W. Chelten Ave., Philadelphia 19144.
Contact staff writer Gayle Ronan Sims at 215-854-4185 or gsims@phillynews.com. To ask a question of Sims, go to http://go. philly.com/obituary.
Obituary, Chadwick & Mckinney Funeral Home, Ardmore, PA
Jean Guthrie Bodine, 95, of Bryn Mawr, PAj died peacefully with family by her side on August 13th. She was born on August 6,1927 in Minneapolis MN. Jean was predeceased by her husband Jim, her sister Tracy, her parents Ruth and Murray Guthrie, and her daughter-in-law Elizabeth Bodine. She is survived by her four children: Jane, Marnie, Murray, and Tracy, and her four grandchildren: Chris, Megan, Trevor, and Alexis. She was a graduate of Smith College (1949) where she majored in Government. She married James F. Bodine in the summer of that year. Throughout their lives they both contributed significantly to the welfare of the Philadelphia area. Jean served on the Women's Committee of the Academy of Natural Sciences, and on the board of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, as well as being a trustee of the McLean Contributionship. She was a graduate of The Barnes Horticultural Program, and throughout her life she delighted in gardening and birding. She served on the Council of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. She was involved in the beginnings of Philadelphia Green, and for many years was active in the Vest Pocket Parks Program, as well as the Philadelphia Flower Show. Given her passion for the greening of Philadelphia, she initiated a tree census and tree planting program in the City. Jean's spiritual home was Christ Church where she was involved in many aspects of the Church's life, including the Vestry, the Outreach and Garden Committees, chair of the Altar Guild, and served on the Search Committee. She was active on the board of the Christ Church Preservation Trust, and in 2008 the trust honored her with the Helen Washburn Award for outstanding community service. She spent 16 years as a volunteer mentor at the E. M. Stanton Elementary School in Philadelphia. Jean loved her years at Pocono Lake Preserve, especially trail blazing and evening Song Service on the lake. Recently she had been focused on the creation of the Catulpa Court Water Garden at Stoneleigh: A Natural Garden. Jean Bodine lived honorably. She cared deeply for her family, friends and community with generosity and warmth. She was humble, conscientious, and always thankful for her blessings. Jean was loved, respected and admired by the many people whose lives she touched. A celebration of Jean's life will be held on Saturday September 10th at 11 AM in Christ Church, 20 N American St, Philadelphia, PA 19106. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be given in her honor to Christ Church Preservation Trust, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, or Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania.