Jay Cowan Odum

Jay Cowan Odum, 68, passed away on January 16, 2017. He was a southern boy, born in Lebanon, TN to J.C. and Lurlie Odum.

Jay C grew up on a farm in Lebanon where he graduated from Lebanon High School after which, he immediately joined the Air Force and served his country in Vietnam until 1972. He returned to the U.S. and attended Tennessee Tech where he earned his Degree in Engineering and embarked on a 38 year career with E.I. Dupont .  

Jay C created new facilities and leaves behind a legacy of both facilities and people who were touched by and learned from him. Jay C had assignments in the US, The Netherlands, Spain, Mexico, and Luxembourg and traveled to numerous other locations across the globe. Included among these was a decade long program building numerous production facilities in Asturias, Spain; an assignment managing construction across Europe; and just prior to his retirement, an assignment as project leader of the team that created new corporate headquarter buildings in Wilmington, DE that have won industry recognition as modern, productive, energy efficient spaces.

Jay was happily married to his wife Bernadette of 38 years and is survived by his daughter, Caitlin; his son, James; his adored granddaughter Tara and other relatives.

A funeral service will be held at the Doherty Funeral Home, 3200 Limestone Rd, Wilmington, DE, 19808 at 5:00 pm on Monday, Jan 23, 2017 where friends may visit with his family from 3-5 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to a few of Jay’s favorite organizations, The American Cancer Society, 92 Read’s Way, # 205, New Castle, DE 19720, Wounded Warrior Project, (www.woundedwarriorproject.org)  or the Multiple Sclerosis Society, 30 S. 17th St., Suite  800, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

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