Jody (James) Avtges, a resident of Reading for 20 years, died at her home on February 28, 2016. She was 57 years of age. Jody was born in Omaha, Nebraska on June 4, 1958 to an advertising executive and a school teacher; the family moved to New York when Jody was ten. She is the eldest of six children. She graduated from Dobbs Ferry High School and the University of Kansas. Jody worked in the energy conservation field and moved to Boston to work for the Dept. of Energy.
She then went back to graduate school and earned a MBA at the University of Massachusetts. She worked at Tufts Health Care and most recently was the principle grant writer for Harbor Health Care Centers. Jody has been married to Peter Avtges for twenty years; they have a son James, who is a junior at Reading Memorial High School. Jody is also survived by her Mother Joyce James-DeHaas of Mexico. Brothers and sisters; Lynette M. James of Hampton Bays, NY, Mark Carl James of Montauk, NY, Jacqueline Marie James of Dobbs Ferry, NY, Jeffrey Madden James of Palo Alto, CA, and Mathew Christopher James of Amityville, NY.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, March 2, at 11:00am at the Old South United Methodist Church 6 Salem St. Reading. Burial will follow at Charles Lawn Cemetery in Reading. Visiting hours will be held at the Douglass, Edgerley and Bessom Funeral Home 25 Sanborn St. (corner of Woburn St.) Reading on Tuesday from 4:00-8:00pm. For on line guest book visit johnbdouglassfuneralhome.com