Former Miss Georgia dies

MARIETTA - Joan ``Jody&#39;&#39; Shattuck Sodel, Miss Georgia in 1958 and first runner-up in the Miss America pageant that year, died Wednesday of melanoma at her daughter&#39;s home in suburban Atlanta. She was 65. <br> <br> Sodel&#39;s friends secretly entered her in the Miss Athens pageant while she was a student at the University of Georgia. The statuesque blonde had the last laugh, however, when she won the competition and went on to become Miss Georgia. <br> <br> She seldom talked about her life as a beauty queen after completing her reign as Miss Georgia. She married and devoted most of her time to her family. <br> <br> A few years ago her children obtained a tape of the 1958 Miss America Pageant, in which they discovered their mother dressed as Daisy Mae, singing and dancing a number from the hit 1956 musical ``L&#39;il Abner.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> In 1980, Sodel became involved with the Southeastern Charity Horseshow and helped raise more than $500,000 over the next 20 years. She also served on the board of her favorite cause, the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. <br> <br> Sodel is survived by two daughters, two sons, her mother and stepfather, and seven grandchildren.