VALDOSTA — Early in the morning, Sonny Coody steps into his truck, heading to the nearby Azalea City Church of God. The 82-year-old is on his way to begin his daily chores of housekeeping, which have kept him busy for nearly 30 years.

While there is no one in charge of him, telling him to follow a strict schedule of when or what to do, Coody insists that he helps out by choice because he enjoys his responsibilities.

“I’m here before 7 o’clock,” he said. “(I’m here) every day. I come whenever, all the time.”

Coody can be found completing tasks for the church throughout the day, and even on his free time.

“(My hobby is) work,” he said. “I’m serious, that’s it. What else have I got to do?”

Whether tending to church grounds, taking out trash, changing lightbulbs, or dealing with landscaping, Coody is always lifting a helping hand.

He has “brought a lot of love and laughter” to the church community, always asking if “there’s anything else we need,” said Tara Williams, church administrative assistant.

“I help out at the church every day,” he said.

In the past, Coody was responsible for the property’s entire landscaping duties, planting flowers, pruning bushes and beautifying the perimeter of the church. Now that he is older, the church has hired a professional landscaping team to handle most of the work.

However, it is not surprising to still find Coody cleaning up a little around bushes because he truly enjoys helping the church as much as he can.

 Some of Coody’s landscaping knowledge comes from what he learned while attending a horticulture course at Valdosta Technical College 20 years ago. He was able to gain skills and education about landscaping when a member of the church encouraged him to complete the program.

“(The class is) partially behind some of the things you’re seeing here today,” he said.

Walking to the back of the church, visitors can stop at Coody Park, which Coody says was named after him in the 1980s by the pastor at the time and other church members.

People are welcomed by trees, offering shade to a group of wooden picnic tables, some Coody built many years ago with little help from others.

“I try to be appreciative of what people do and do my best with it and about it,” he said.

Born and raised in Valdosta, Coody enjoys his life here and could not imagine living anywhere else.

“I’ve been here all my days, all my life,” he said. “It’s like home and you feel comfortable. Over a long, long period of time you get to learn a lot of people ... All the way around we just got a good neighborhood.”

His father, Bill, and mother, James Alton, raised Coody, his brother, Reece, and his two sisters, Jimmie Lee and Norma.

“We got along pretty good,” he said. “Our parents wouldn’t let us fight one another. They were good people. Anyone would tell you that.”

Coody’s siblings were “college people (who) had the schooling,” while he completed his education in the eighth grade.

“I got about all the education you could get back in that day, to be honest with you,” he said.

Throughout his childhood, Coody has fond memories of his father, who was always stepping up and helping out.

“Maybe if they (a local church) didn’t have anybody to do the preaching that day, they’d call and he’d say, ‘That’s 40 miles, so 40 minutes. Can you people sing a song or do something? I’m on my way,’” he said. “He’d go lay it down. He could do it.”

In his twenties, Coody met Mary Mertle, then 16, knowing right away that he wanted to marry her. Shortly after meeting and speaking with her father, he did just that. Together, they had five children — one boy and four girls.

“My girls, they all went to school and they did that,” he said. “They just kept moving up the ladder ... They were all college people.”

For 54 years, Coody happily shared life’s journey, with his wife by his side.

“I married one of the best women in the world,” he said. “She was smart (and) did what she was supposed to do (and) always done a good job of it.”

Before helping out at the church, Coody also performed similar work at other places in town. He also drove church vans, transporting seniors to and from church services and activities.

“People claim I was pretty good at constructing things (too),” he said.

Toward the end of World War II, Coody enlisted with the United States Army Air Force. During his four years of service, he lived in Washington, working in food service and enjoying his tour of duty.

“To tell you the truth, I liked every bit of it,” he said. “We had good people in charge, many people that had come all the way through the war and they were all right. They worked good with us.”

While he did not stay in the military, some days he wishes he had.

“In some respects, I wish I’d have stayed in from time to time,” he said. “My brother did stay in and he stayed in a long time. He’d go back today if he could.”

Today, if he is not helping out at the church, Coody can be found enjoying breakfast at one of his favorite places, the Gold Plate Restaurant.

“Sometimes I don’t even tell them (what I want to eat). They just get me something,” he said. “They know what I like.”

In the near future, Coody looks forward to resuming travel with his brother, Reece, who used to take trips together quite often.

“My brother can travel this universe without a map,” he said. “He’s pretty smart.”

“I’ve got some books. He has them right now and he said one day we’re going to go to all these places and to me it looked like the whole countryside,” he said. “He’s got the money and I can get the time. We get along pretty good. I’ll say, ‘What are we doing today?’ and he’ll tell me and I’ll say, ‘I think that’ll work.’ No stress about it.”

While the brothers have no set date to travel, Coody will continue spending his time at the church, a place he truly likes to be.

“I’m familiar with each and every thing that goes on really,” he said. “It’s close to home. It’s convenient for me.”

Williams thinks fondly of Coody, tearing up when she talks about him.

“I just like him,” she said. “He brings me a smile every day. When he’s not here, we wonder where he’s at. He’s just a good, honest man. He’s real.”

When Coody hears how she feels toward him, he feels rewarded and appreciated by Williams. 

“That’s kind of like your payoff for doing the best you can do,” he said.

While Williams thinks highly of Coody and has many thoughtful comments to make about him, Coody let it be known how he feels toward her.

“Tara (has) not done bad for the people either,” he said. “If (something) comes up, she can do it. She applies herself to do it. I think it’s a blessing for them to have a person in that category. You can’t have a proper institution if you don’t have people. You know, it all goes together.”

The environment he works in and the people he works with have kept Coody happy for nearly 30 years. He plans to continue helping at the church as long as he can.

“I like every one of them,” he said. “I feel at home. I am at home.”