(The following narrative is provided by Peggy Smith, a former student/tennis friend of Pat Cody.)

   Pat was seventeen when she started playing tennis. One day while playing softball in South Gate Park in 1957, someone loaned her a racket and asked her to play. That started her love for the game. By age 20, she was entered in major tournaments. “I was the only nationally-ranked player who didn’t play junior tournaments,” she’d say.

   Pat played many times in the US Nationals at Forest Hills, NY. She made it twice to Wimbledon and reached the second round in singles, third round in doubles. She holds the record for the most titles (38) in national public parks. She was one-time the No. 5 player in Southern California, behind such luminaries as Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals. In 1971 she reached the rank of 17 in singles and 12 in doubles nationwide. She played against many world champs and beat King and Casals in a doubles match. She won tournaments on the seniors tour and did the Virginia Slims circuit.

   Pat did not play tennis for the glory or the money; the purses were miniscule in her days. She loved the story of how she was paid $270 when she lost in the second round at Wimbledon. “But we got to ride in a chauffeur-driven limousine from the hotel to the club,” she would say.

   Pat’s “always-attacking play” earned her a good long run for someone who did not play tennis while growing up. She was a natural and once gained the reputation of having the fastest racquet in the West with serves over 100 mph. “And that was with a wood racket,” she’d want you to know. She taught tennis until becoming ill with cancer. She died of complications due to the cancer on Monday, August 23, 2004.

   Pat was an honorary member of the DTC. She will be missed by all, but I will especially miss having her to talk to about tennis. I visited her a few days before she passed away and she was looking forward to watching the US Open. She was, at that time, in good spirits, and she still is.

                                  Fondly, Peggy Smith