Please note: This article was published in the print edition of Highlights prior to Sr. Irene’s passing on January 24, 2026.
On Sunday, January 11, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary – Eastern American Area celebrated Sister Irene Cody’s 100th birthday at Marymount Convent in Tarrytown, New York, with a Mass celebrated by Father Senan Taylor, OFM Cap, followed by a birthday toast and festive luncheon in the Scavullo Room.
Born Dorothy Cody in New York City on January 5, 1926, to James and Irene Cody, the youngest of three sisters. Following graduation from Sacred Heart of Mary (SHM) High School in New York City, she answered the call to become a vowed religious. In September 1943, she entered the Religious of Sacred Heart of Mary in Tarrytown, New York. She professed her three-year vows in April 1947, and her final vows in August 1950, both in Tarrytown.
Her ministry in education took her to various RSHM schools both in the US and abroad. She received her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Marymount College in 1948, a master’s degree in Latin and Classics from Fordham University in 1955, and her doctorate in Educational Psychology and Counseling in 1963 from Fordham University. As she worked towards completing her various degrees, she was teaching full-time in Marymount schools in New York through 1965.
In 1966, she served as principal and superior at Marymount in Medellin, Colombia, and then went on to teach at Marymount in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She returned to New York in 1969, teaching at Marymount, New York. She became the Province’s Director of Education in 1970 until returning to work in schools in 1973.
Sister Irene then served as guidance counselor at SHM, Park Terrace in New York City, followed by Marymount, London. In 1976, she spent a year in the communications office of the RSHM Generalate in Rome. She then returned to New York for a year as part of the administrative team at SHM High School. In 1978, Marymount College President Sister Majella Berg, RSHM, invited her to serve as director of Financial Aid at the college – now university – in Arlington, Virginia. Recognizing the growing international student population and her own affinity for working with young people from other countries, Sister Irene transitioned to the Admissions department. Here she recruited and counseled international students, later developing programs and additional services for these students. Recognizing that Sister Irene’s work for and commitment to international students greatly enriched the Marymount community and impacted the lives of countless students, the university honored Sister Irene in 2018 by dedicating the “Cody Gallery” at the university’s new Ballston Center to her. While in Arlington, she also volunteered with the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, where she tutored adults in reading and writing and trained new tutors. After 36 years as a member of the Marymount University community, she retired to Marymount Convent in Tarrytown, New York, in 2014.
Reflecting on her years of ministry following the dedication of the Cody Gallery, Sister Irene said, “I hope you will have the opportunity, if you have not already had it, to travel to different parts of the world and to meet people whose lives will speak to you ofthe goodness of their God.”