Mary Jo Codey (née Rolli; born August 14, 1955) is an American healthcare activist and former First Lady of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. She served her tenure as First Lady while her husband,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Richard Codey Richard James Codey (born November 27, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New Jersey from 2004 to 2006. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 2024 and as the President ...

, served from November 16, 2004 to January 17, 2006.

Early life

Codey was born Mary Jo Rolli in Glen Ridge,

, she grew up in West Orange. She attended Caldwell College, where she received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in elementary education. She then earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in elementary education, with certification as a Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant (LDTC), from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

Career

Codey became First Lady upon her husband's succession to the governors office, after former Governor

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 amidst a sex scandal. McGreevey served in the New Jersey Genera ...

resigned. She continued teaching school part time during her service. As First Lady, she was known for her work in

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called perinatal depression, is a mood disorder which may be experienced by pregnant or postpartum women. Symptoms include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and extreme cha ...

and

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

Personal life

She married

in 1981."Meet Mary Jo Codey"
She suffered from postpartum depression following the birth of her oldest son. She said she did not get over it until a year after her son's birth. She controlled the illness with medication, which she stopped using during her second pregnancy. To combat the depression during her pregnancy she underwent

electroshock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequate. Condit ...

. She received electroshock again while suffering from breast cancer. Codey and her family live in

Roseland, New Jersey Roseland is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in western Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,299, an increase of 480 (+8.2%) from the 2010 Uni ...

and she currently teaches at a private elementary school. She has said that while she enjoyed the opportunity to be First Lady and to advocate for causes she believed in, she was looking forward to her husband leaving office in order to return to being a private citizen.

References

External links

Postpartum Progress: Mary Jo Codey's StoryiKeepSafe.com - Photo of & Message by Mary Jo Codey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Codey, Mary Jo 1955 births Living people First ladies and gentlemen of New Jersey American health activists Mental health activists Caldwell University alumni Seton Hall University alumni People from Roseland, New Jersey People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey People from West Orange, New Jersey People with mood disorders Schoolteachers from New Jersey American women educators