Obituary of Jody Jamieson

Jody C Jamieson, previously known as Carol Jean Volpe, 84, formerly of the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia, passed away peacefully on July 4, 2026. 

   Born on December 9, 1941 to Richard Volpe and Agnes Badami Volpe, she was raised in the tight knit community of East Falls with many close relatives living within a block of each other. 

   She attended nearby St Bridget’s elementary school and then went on to Little Flower High School where she was May Queen.  She had the looks and talent to head off to New York to model or become an actress and passed up a scholarship to acting school to marry her high school sweetheart, Francis McIlhenny.  She quickly became a mother at age 20 to her daughter Lisa, and soon after, her son Richard. 

    To help support the young family she worked nights waiting tables at the Oak Lane Diner.

Later in life, she was a detective at John Wanamakers Department Store and worked her way up to the role of regional head of security, overseeing many stores on the East Coast. 

      After retiring from Wanamakers, she worked in medical records for a local hospital, and later transcribed New Jersey State troopers’ annual medical examinations. 

     She eventually migrated down to southern Delaware after retirement and enjoyed playing cards and socializing with her friends  in the gated community that she lived in.

    Late in life, she returned to the Philadelphia area to live closer to her children and grandchildren whom she adored and loved spending time with and to whom she was affectionately known as Gigi. 

    She spent this past year at St Joe’s Villa in Flourtown being cared for by the wonderful people there. 

    She was very proud of her Italian/Sicilan heritage and was a voracious reader, a published poet, an animal lover, incredibly intelligent, hysterically funny, a sharp dresser, and loved her true crime shows and books.  She also loved dancing and music, especially The Bee Gees, and most importantly Barry Gibb. She was very loving and generous and even though she was on a fixed income,  she donated regularly to many charities. 

    She is survived by her daughter Lisa McIlhenny Pereira, her son Richard McIlhenny (Marissa), her grandsons Rick (Ashley), Luke, Jesse, Daniel, and Craig, her great grandchildren Rocco, Nicolina, and Jordan, and her sister Patricia Georgi; as well as her nephews and many beloved cousins and friends. 

  Our hearts are heavy.   We love you and will miss you always. 

Services will be held at St Bridget’s Church in East Falls on Saturday August 29 with visitation starting at 9am and services at 10am with internment and luncheon to follow.  

Donations can be made in her memory to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the ASPCA