Johanna Margaretha “Greta” Godbey

Johanna Margaretha “Greta” Godbey, widow of the Reverend Dr. John Godbey, died June 30, 2020. She was born Feb 4, 1932, on the island of Java, Indonesia, to Bernard and Elisabeth Gratama. When the Japanese invaded the country in 1942, the family was separated for three years in Japanese concentration camps. At the end of the war, they were reunited and returned to The Netherlands.

Johanna, known as Greta, planned to become an air hostess for KLM. To improve her French language skills, she worked at a laundry near a United States airbase outside of Casablanca, Morocco. It was there that she met John Godbey, and after a whirlwind courtship, they were married on May 26, 1954, in Casablanca. In 1955 they moved to the United States, where Greta took up life as the wife of a graduate student. While John finished his doctorate at the University of Chicago Divinity School, she raised three sons and a daughter. She was a loving and involved mother who was active in her children’s lives, sewing unique Halloween costumes, and serving as a Cub Scout Den Mother and a Camp Fire Girls group leader.

Greta earned a B.S. and completed all course-work for an M.A. in Mathematics from Chicago State University. She taught math in the Chicago public high schools for several years and then became Assistant to the Graduate Dean of Humanities at the University of Chicago. She excelled in guiding students through the required paperwork. She also became a self-taught medievalist focused on Viking sagas and the writings of medieval women.

Greta and John were active members of the First Unitarian Church in Hyde Park for over forty years. Greta regularly opened their home to members of the faculty, staff, and graduate students of Meadville Lombard Theological School, where John served. As a couple, they celebrated forty-five years of marriage and never lacked for stimulating and invigorating conversations. She spoke her mind; he listened, valued, and challenged her opinions.

They enjoyed camping, tennis, and travel throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Greta was an avid naturalist, a bird-watcher, and a friend to all dogs. Music was an important part of her life. She enjoyed concerts and operas, chamber music and recitals, vocal and orchestral music of all kinds. No matter where she was, Greta sought a choir to join. Over the years she sang with several church choirs, university-affiliated choirs, and Renaissance choirs.

Following John’s death from Parkinson’s in 1999, Greta moved to Ardmore, PA to be near her daughter Margaret. She enjoyed the proximity to musical events in Philadelphia and the fellowship of the Main Line Unitarian Church in Devon, PA, where she served in a variety of capacities including choir-member and book store manager. She again followed Margaret to Hartsville, SC in 2015, making new friends in her remaining years.

Greta is survived by her sister, Mrs. Lucie Alberti of Colombier, Switzerland; son Charles (Helenna) of Chicago, IL; son Nicholas (Alice) of Grapevine, TX; daughter Margaret (David Hellen) of Hartsville, SC; five grandchildren:and seven great-grandchildren. Greta’s ashes will be interred with John’s at the First Unitarian Church in Chicago, IL.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to organizations Greta supported: Best Friends Animal Society, Kanab, Utah, https://bestfriends.org/; Darlington County Humane Society, Darlington, SC, https://darlingtonhumane.org/; or The Nature Conservancy, https://www.nature.org/en-us/.