Obituary of Thelma Odessa Canady

Mrs. Thelma Odessa Canady (Mom, Auntie, Aunt Thelma, Nana) was born April 18, 1928 in Valdosta, Georgia, to the late TC and Ealia Carter. She was the youngest of four children.

Thelma graduated from Morven Rosenwald High School in Valdosta, Ga in 1945. She moved to New Jersey in her early twenties and married the late Willis Canady on July 8, 1956 and to this union one child was born, Tanya Canady.

Thelma worked for the Stolzer Family and for Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho and Ethicon. She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul and was always willing to help anyone in need. She would say: “If you hold your hand too tight, nothing will come in and nothing will go out”.

Thelma loved sewing and she loved to travel. Family was very important and she often traveled to Florida and Detroit to visit her family. She was a good cook, known for her German Chocolate, Pineapple Coconut and Sour Cream Cakes. The Saints would often say: “Which cake did you make? Put a piece to the side for me”.

Thelma was a firm believer that the Lord would make a way. One of her favorite hymns was Pass Me Not O, Gentle Savior. She was a member of Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Newark, NJ under the leadership of Rev. Bennett Johnson. Thelma served as the Pastor’s Aide President. She was also a member of the Scholarship committee. She served on both committee’s for over twenty-five years.

Thelma’s answer to God’s call reunites her with her husband, Willis R. Canady; her parents, TC Carter and Ealia Hamilton Carter; her siblings, Emma Jackson, Willie Mae Reed, Joe Carter and Ira Dais.

Mrs. Thelma Odessa Canady is survived by her daughter, Tanya Canady (NJ); her granddaughter, Chatiyah Canady (NJ); her great-granddaughter Chandler Porter (NJ); her great niece, Rohonda (James) Reed Daniel, (GA); her great, great-niece, Taliqua Reed (GA); her nieces, Phyllis Reed (FL), Pam Brown, (NC); her great nieces, Veda Ann (Kenny) Sharp (MI), Toshiba Thomas (FL), Sydney Brown (NC); The Dais Family of Virgina and North Carolina, and a host of other family members and friends.