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In memory of

Lloyd H. McCord

Decatur, GA, USA

February 7, 1922 - December 29, 2020

Feb 7, 1922 - Dec 29, 2020

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“A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.”— Liberty Hyde Bailey

Lloyd H. McCord, 98, of Decatur GA, lay down his garden tools for the last time on December 29, 2020, after a brief illness and a lifetime of patiently tending to Jehovah’s fields and the needs of His people on this earth.

Lloyd was born on February 7, 1922 to Lloyd Hilliard McCord and Naomi Hampton McCord in Lincolnton County Georgia. After graduating from high school in New Haven, CT, he enlisted in the Army. Lloyd was a decorated veteran who served as a fireman during World War II. He spent 3 years in active duty before being honorably discharged. After leaving the Army, he went on to attend Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University.

Lloyd loved photography and was seldom seen on Tuskegee University’s campus without his Kodak Brownie Camera, snapping photographs of anything that caught his eye. A beautiful coed who would later mean more to him than his photography hobby, caught his eye one day. In 1954, Lloyd McCord and Verdelle Miller fell in love and wed, going on to have two children, Cheryl and Landis.

His love for photography remained with him throughout his life. Lloyd loved taking photos of his family, his garden, and his travels. He documented numerous family reunions, informal gatherings, and trips throughout the country. His family looked forward to the timeline and historical documentation displayed in the large photo albums he brought to every family reunion.

Lloyd was devoted to helping others and felt that he could help his community best by serving them when their hearts were often heaviest. He humbly ministered to others throughout his nearly 30 years as a funeral director and embalmer at Keyes, Ammons, and Williams Funeral Homes in New Haven and Waterbury, CT. He loved his work at the funeral home, and through it demonstrated patience and compassion to those who were grieving.

Good health was important to Lloyd. He believed in living a healthy lifestyle before it even became fashionable. Cheryl and Landis remember many meals that consisted of plates of raw organic vegetables with a side of multivitamins. He encouraged his family to spend lots of time in the fresh air outdoors. His friends recall that Lloyd was so amazingly fit, that in the course of his work, he was able to lift remains alone that would normally require labor of two men! When Lloyd and Verdelle moved to Decatur, GA, he continued to keep fit: playing ping pong, and of course, working in his garden, testing out organic gardening techniques. While in Connecticut, he was recognized in the local paper for using organic techniques and materials to grow roses that were over 15 feet tall. After moving to Georgia, he continued to use those same techniques to grow abundant healthy vegetables. He was especially proud of his Kentucky Wonder green bean vines that are reported to have grown as high as 20 feet!

There is probably no one alive that loved food as much as Lloyd did. He loved to eat, grow, and share food with others. He was particularly partial to good ol’ southern cooking; homemade canned fig preserves (made of figs from his overgrown backyard fig tree), smothered chicken (or rabbit), string beans and sliced tomatoes (again, from the garden), and hot biscuits and cornbread served with buttermilk were special favorites. Of course, he must finish his feast with a slice of old fashioned lemon coconut cake, his mother’s recipe!

Lloyd also enjoyed playing chess. He never seemed to tire of it. His friends share their recollection of the many chess parties he hosted that would often last over entire weekends and into the wee hours of the mornings. Although the players would offer to bring refreshments, he would never let any of them do so, opting instead to share with them his wife’s good cooking or fresh fruits and snacks he brought from the farmer’s market. As recently as three weeks before his death, he was still relentlessly beating seasoned players in game after game, artfully executing chess openings such as the Sicilian Defense and Queens Gambit, leading to end games that could only leave one in awe.

Lloyd never met a stranger and believed in extending his hospitality to everyone. His friends would often say, “there is nobody like Lloyd McCord.” He would host Atlanta Braves watch parties with his baseball loving friends. Lloyd would invite sci-fi aficionados to enjoy a meal and watch episodes of Star Trek with him. He would often bring grapes, melons or vegetables from his garden to share with his friends in his senior group, the Keenagers. After his beloved wife Verdelle passed on, he would host an annual garden party in her honor for the Keenagers and his other friends at his home. His parties became so popular, that people would drop hints and outright ask for invitations months in advance, hoping to be included on the guest list. Even many of Cheryl’s young high school students would ask if they could come “help serve” at the parties so they could be part of the festivities!

Lloyd was a dedicated and loving husband, father, brother, friend, and mentor. He believed that one should honor God in every word and deed. It was this belief that propelled him to share his time with others, whether it be partaking with others in a meal, playing chess or spending time in the garden. He held an unwavering faith and gratitude, which he never failed to share with those who surrounded him. In his last weeks in this realm, he would often say to those around him, “Thank you for what you are doing. You are doing a good job”, and “I believe Jehovah put you here for such a time as this.” We who had the pleasure of knowing him, believed God put Lloyd here to bless us and teach us for such a time as this. He will be missed.

Lloyd was predeceased by his wife Verdelle, his sister Ella Ruth, and brother Thomas "TJ". He is survived by his daughter Cheryl (Ed) Jamison of Stone Mountain, GA, son Landis McCord of Baltimore, MD, grandson Imani McCord of Boulder, CO, sisters Edna Jean King of Jefferson City, MO and Norma Ellen McCord of Cary, NC, as well as a host of other relatives and friends.

Finally, the family asks that in honor of Lloyd, that you plant a rose or a tree, and nurture it with the same love and dedication that he modeled for you; or make a donation to the Alzheimer's Research & Prevention Foundation to further research in understanding and ultimately eliminating this devastating disease.

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