Min. Cornelia Boddie-Sypher

Minister Cornelia Boddie-Sypher, born on July 31, 1938, in Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama, to Annie Mae Summer Hill and Tom Laurence Boddie, passed away on November 15, 2025, surrounded by her family.

She completed her education at Central Evening High in New York, graduating in January 1973, and later became a registered nurse and deaconess at the First Baptist Church of Crown Heights in August 1984. On January 11, 2004, she received her minister’s license. Cornelia earned her Bachelor of Theology in 2003 and her Master of Theology in 2004 from Lighthouse Christian College, along with an associate degree in arts from Kingsborough Community College. She also served as the New York State Chaplain.

She retired from New York University Hospital after 36 years of service.

On December 15, 1990, Cornelia married Kinard Sypher.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Kinard, and her sisters, Gladys Garner and Nora “Baby Mae” Boddie.

She is survived by her son, Felix Boddie, Jr. (Dorthea); grandchildren Stephanie Shook, Samantha Dupree, Amber Boddie, and Justin Boddie; great-grandchildren Dillon, Haley Shook, Emery, Elliana, and Elijah Dupree; great-great-grandchild Luka Mabon; and her sister Ella Mae Garner, many nieces, nephews, and close friends. Cornelia will be remembered as a devoted and compassionate mother, grandmother, and a woman of faith.

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