Paul M. & Mary W. (Phillips) O'Dell

Paul M. and Mary W. (Phillips) O’Dell, of Gambrills, Maryland, will be together in heaven for
eternity. Mary, 88, passed away on April 19, 2021, after a long illness. Paul, 93, followed her
on September 29, 2021, after a tragic fall.

Paul was born in Pulaski County, Virginia on September 14, 1928. Mary was born in Anne
Arundel County, Maryland on May 6, 1932. Both attended Millersville School (now Millersville
Elementary) and graduated as valedictorians of their classes from the old Arundel High School,
Paul in 1945 and Mary in 1950. They were married on July 1, 1950, in Annapolis and made their
home in Gambrills, Maryland for most of their 71-year loving marriage.

Paul, a master carpenter and homebuilder, worked from 1951 to 1952 at the Annapolis Yacht
Yard before serving in the Army from February 1952 to February 1954, as a telephone and
telecommunications technician in the Korean War where he earned a bronze star. He had a
career as a sales representative for People’s Life Insurance.

Mary also sold insurance for People’s Life before beginning her career in the Prince Georges
County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro, where she worked her way up to the Supervisor of the
Court Clerks.

Mary and Paul loved serving the Lord, helping people, and guiding children. After retiring from
their primary careers, Mary and Paul became involved with the Annapolis Assembly of God
Church, where Mary loved to sing. They also served in the Book of Life Academy, Mary as a
4th grade teacher and Paul as an Administrator and at one point, the Principal. They also
volunteered at the Fort Howard Veterans Administration Medical Center for which they earned
the Couple Award in 1994.

More recently they had joined the First Baptist Church of Crofton where Paul was involved in
the men’s prayer service.

Paul and Mary are preceded in death by their parents, Hobart and Lora (Spencer) O’Dell, and A.
Wayne and E. Lurline (Cox) Phillips; their siblings, Laymon O’Dell, Lydia (O’Dell) Shubert, J.
Dianne (Cox) Sears, babies Helen and Nancy Phillips, and beloved nephew Charles Anthony
(Tony) Cox. Although they had no children, Paul and Mary are survived by their brothers W.
Wayne Phillips and Charles W. Cox and many loving nieces and nephews, family and friends.

A memorial service for Paul and Mary will be held at the First Baptist Church of Crofton, 1690
Crofton Parkway, Crofton, MD, 21114. Visitation will begin at 10:30 AM on November 6, 2021
and the service will begin at 11:30. The service will be officiated by the Reverend Keith Hinton.
Following the service will be a procession to Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Annapolis,
Maryland, where Paul and Mary will be interred together with their nephew, Tony Cox and near
her parents Wayne and Lurline Phillips. Following the interment, all are welcome to celebrate
their lives at a repast (place to be announced).