Richard Breitling Hodge and Jean Elaine Hodge

Richard "Dick" Hodge died bed on October 17, 2023 and left to join Jean, his beloved wife of seventy years, for their next big adventure. Theirs is a story of enduring love, shared celebrations and a tireless commitment to family and community.

Dick was raised in the house of his birth in Colton, California with his two older brothers, Kenneth and Harry. Harry was only two years older than Dick and they were the best of buddies their whole lives. The tales of their escapades are many. An often told classic is the story where one of them killed a pigeon with a BB gun and an irate neighbor showed up at the door yelling at their mother, "Your sons shot my prized pigeon!" She said that couldn't be because her boys had been back in their room playing cards all morning. To which he countered: "Don't you have a tall, skinny boy and a short, fat boy?" Thus they were caught. The story changed many times over the years as to which one of them actually shot the bird. Even today, the details of who was responsible for the ill-fated pigeon remains a family dispute.

The call of duty beckoned during WWII and Dick answered it by serving as a radioman 2nd class on the USS Duxbury in the Sea of Japan. Following wars end Dick met the lively Jean Backus at the Colton Plunge and was immediately taken with her. He was the head lifeguard and Jean taught water ballet in the hot San Bernardino summers. Come Fall, Dick left for "Cal" Berkeley where he was a political science major while Jean ventured off to college in Kansas City. Upon graduation Dick was offered a job with the FBI. He whisked Jean off to marry him and they honeymooned at Niagara Falls before his posting in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham was the scene of their first big quarrel-over laundry. Dick complained that his mother always ironed his boxer shorts, to which Jean suggested that he take his underwear home to his mother. It wasn't long before the Bureau reassigned Dick to the New York City office-which he hated. Jean thrived on the fashion of city life but Dick couldn't stand the crowds, the dark subway and the coldness of New Yorkers. So he quit the Bureau and moved them back to California.

Dick's big brother Harry was living the party life on Balboa Peninsula and it didn't take much to convince Dick and Jean this was the place to be. They rented a bungalow near the ocean where they welcomed their daughter Karen Ann. A year later they bought their first home in College Park-a new housing tract in Costa Mesa. Dick and Jean hit it off with the neighbors when they all got together to build fences between the houses. They enjoyed each other so much they installed a gate between their house and the Gotts' behind them. This became a conduit between streets and made it easy to have progressive dinners and many, many neighborhood parties.

The Halloween parties-one could fill volumes with their creative costumes. A favorite is when they walked in as headless horsemen-carrying their heads! (Those gory heads drying on the kitchen counter got quite the reaction from the neighborhood kids.) For summer luaus moms made watermelon balls while dads barbecued ribs at the Hodge house with the party culminating with drinking and dancing over in the Gotts' enclosed patio. Thus began what was dubbed The Gang-a group of friends anchored by the Spencers, Gotts and Hodges. The Gang traversed the big Island of Hawaii in rented campers, sailed the Caribbean (crewing their boat), rafted the Colorado River and cruised Alaska. The couples each bought a cabin in Big Bear where the guys could fish and the girls could antique.

In 1963 Dick and Jean welcomed their son Richard Junior. At the age of five Richard astounded everyone at the Gang's summer picnic when he hit a baseball right out of the park. Dick and Jean were delighted with his athleticism and cheered when he became the star pitcher in Little League. Dick enjoyed it even more when Richard started playing football in High School since that was his favorite spectator sport. But Dick wasn't just a spectator. Over the years he played in many sports and there are shelves of left-over trophies to prove it! From handball to bowling to golf to fishing; from poker to bridge, Dick loved to play and he met his match in Jean a kindred soul. Of course it wasn't about the games, it was about the people.

You'd be hard-pressed to meet a more sociable couple. Their house was always abuzz with planning, hosting and serving the community. Over the years Dick took on roles as chairman of the Society of Former Agents of the FBI, president of the Exchange Club, chairman of the Independent Insurance Agent Alliance and host of many a poker night. Jean was equally involved sitting on the board of PTA, the Ebell Club, Assistance League and Sherman Gardens, to name a few. The phone rang off the hook!

1968 Dick moved his family to Harbor View Homes where he and Jean built a four-terrace garden using railroad ties on the backyard slope. They commissioned a tiered waterfall and pond where they were finally able to use the many big rocks collected on family vacations up the coast. In Oregon they had picked wild olallieberries where Kare helped Dick make berry pies. Space was tight in the little trailer so they rolled out the crust with a gin bottle. (There's always room for gin!) Dick dug up a few of those vines to plant at home in their new side yard which was soon guarded by 25 feet of wickedly-thorned blackberry vines.

Inspired by a Sunset Magazine article in the early 60's they started the Christmas "Ye Olde Taffy Pull." The whole neighborhood was invited and over the years the Taffy Pull grew until there were often more than 150 guests. Besides pulling taffy, there was a Christmas piñata, tamales, mulled wine and hot buttered rum which some guests referred to as "poison" the next morning. Dick loved being the tender behind his bar at parties and many will remember the men, rum mugs in hand, belting out "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS" to the Sing Along with Mitch Christmas album. Starting in Costa Mesa and then in their home in Newport Beach the Hodges held their Christmas Party for 39 years spanning three generations of guests.

Richard Hodge is survived by his daughter Kare Grams, his son Richard Hodge, Jr and his wife, Diane Hodge. He leaves behind a legacy carried by his grandsons John E. Grams, with his wife Avantika Jalan, and their son Maverick (Mahdav), as well as Arthur J. Grams with his wife Sheena Grams and their son Archer.

Jean Hodge departed from this world on the day before Covid lockdown in 2020 and has been patiently waiting among her beloved Yadros in the curio cabinet for Dick to join her. They will be interred beside each other on November 16 at Pacific View Memorial Park. To all their family and friends already waiting in the great beyond, Dick and Jean have arrived: It's time to get the party started!