Dr. Godfrey Porter Oakley

Dr. Godfrey Porter Oakley, Jr., a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and friend, and a distinguished epidemiologist and public health advocate, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at the age of 85.

Born on June 1, 1940, in Greenville, North Carolina, Godfrey was the son of the late Carrie Congleton Gray Oakley and Godfrey Porter Oakley Sr.. He was preceded in death by his son, Robert Oakley and by his brother-in-law, Morris Cozart.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Mary Ann Bryant Oakley; sister, Sara Cozart; daughter, Martha Oakley and her wife, Elizabeth Dunn; daughter, Susan Beam and her husband, Stuart; and his two grandsons, Tyler Oakley and Jason Bailey.

Godfrey graduated from Junius H. Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina, in 1958. He was fond of proudly telling the story that he had graduated second in his class, but that his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, Mary Ann, had graduated first! They both attended Duke University from 1958-1961, when he entered the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University. He graduated in 1965 and moved to Cleveland to complete his pediatrics internship and residency. In 1968, he moved to Atlanta to spend two years in the Epidemiology Intelligence Service at the Center for Disease Control. There, he found his true calling in the Public Health Service. After earning an Master's in Public Health from the University of Washington, he and his family returned to Atlanta. After 30 years at what is now called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he retired as the Director of the Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

While he was at the CDC, Godfrey and his team worked with patient advocacy groups to persuade the Food and Drug Administration to mandate the incorporation of folic acid in enriched grains to prevent neural tube birth defects (NTDs). When fortification was approved in 1996, Godfrey was named the ABC Person of the Week. Rates of NTDs have decreased by about a third in the United States and by even more in some countries with higher background rates. As Emory Epidemiology Chair Tim Lash put it, "There are literally thousands of people alive and well, free of neural tube defects, and without knowing that they have Godfrey to thank for it. Such is the power and paradox of prevention; no one embodied it better than Godfrey."

After retiring from the CDC, Godfrey continued to work for over two decades at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory, founding the Center for Spina Bifida Prevention in 2012. At Emory, he loved interacting with students, piquing their curiosity and inspiring them to do great things in public health. He worked tirelessly for folic acid fortification across the world and played an important role in the World Health Organization's 2023 resolution to accelerate food fortification with micronutrients. Godrey was a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has been recognized by numerous awards. He cared much less about those than about getting the job done. He was especially pleased that one of the final projects that he set in motion, folic acid fortification of salt in Ethiopia, is now underway.

Godrey had an equal impact on friends and family. He always said that the best decision he ever made was to marry Mary Ann. He was a loving, generous and supportive father, grandfather and mentor. He loved to play tennis, golf and bridge, and he loved to go to the beach. He was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. He could laugh just as hard at a joke told at his expense as any other, and he always celebrated the success of others. He knew how to build friendships that turned into family. His larger-than-life personality, captured by his big booming laugh, will be missed every bit as much as his wise counsel.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Godfrey's memory to support the Center for Spina Bifida Prevention, now directed by Dr. Vijaya Kancherla, at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, continuing his life's work.

A celebration of Godfrey's life will be held on December 13 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 2650 N Druid Hills Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, at a time that will be announced in the coming days.