Beach babe stole a Midwesterner's heart at a fair

By STEPHANIE HAYES
Published July 20, 2007

TEMPLE TERRACE - Jody McGregor's life was like two sides of a coin.

Heads: a miniskirt-clad beach bunny who dated a rock star and worked for a headline-making doctor.

Tails: a stay-at-home mom and elementary school teacher's aide who became a nurse.

She packed both sides into 55 years.

She succumbed Tuesday to Lou Gehrig's disease. But her mind was sharp and vibrant, like the girl Peter McGregor met in 1969.

It was at a county fair dance in Ohio. Jody was 18, on vacation from Tampa. She dodged the $1 admission fee by sneaking in under the tent. Peter, 19 and Midwestern to the core, was struck by the beach babe. "To see a girl like that, it was like, wow," he said.

Twice, Peter asked Jody to marry him before he shipped out to Vietnam. Both times, she said "no way." While he was gone, Jody dated Henry Paul, guitarist and singer from the rock group Outlaws, Peter said.

Peter had to win Jody back. He unsuccessfully asked her out twice. The third time, she agreed.

He bought a blue Corvette with a white top, her favorite car. They got engaged in that car.

In the '70s, Jody got a job in the office of Dr. James Burt, a notorious Ohio gynecologist who performed illicit surgeries. Burt penned a 1985 book called Surgery of Love. Mafia bosses went to Burt with pregnant girlfriends in tow, Peter said. Jody would wonder who might stroll in next.

Jody and Peter house-sat Burt's mansion. Once, they didn't feed the birds in his atrium for two days - big mistake.

Jody bagged the dead birds and went to a pet store. "We need a refill," she said.

The couple moved to Tampa to care for Jody's father. She was a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, taking care of their two children.

She volunteered as an aide for special-needs students at Tampa Palms Elementary. She went to nursing school and worked at University Community Hospital.

Her tongue felt fat at dinner in 2001. Her speech slurred. Maybe it was the wine, they thought.

It was much worse.

Slowly, Lou Gehrig's disease took over. When she could no longer speak, Jody, Peter and a bunch of Jody's friends took sign language classes.

Jody guided Peter through life, helping him recover from haunting experiences in Vietnam.

She was his strength. And so, Peter was hers until the end.

At home and surrounded by family, she went peacefully.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

BIOGRAPHY

Jody McGregor

Born: July 31, 1951

Died: July 17, 2007

Survivors: Husband, Peter R. McGregor; sons, Patrick, 26, and Steven, 22; brother, John Hargett, and his wife Charlene; sister, Linda Hargett Cunningham, and her husband Albert.

Services: Memorial service at 2 p.m. today at First Presbyterian Church of Tampa, 412 Zack St. Contributions to LifePath Hospice, 3010 W Azeele St., Tampa.

[Last modified July 19, 2007, 22:34:26]