LTC Charles Groover Hodges Jr.

Born in Whigham, Ga. Jan. 8, 1920, he was the son of the late Charles G. Hodges, Sr. and Bonnie Jean Trulock Hodges. He was the middle brother between his older sister Bonnie Jean Hodges (Fishwick) and younger sister Eleanore Hodges (Gerhart). His father moved the family to Miami, Fla. in the mid-1920s to follow the land boom, buying acreage and properties along the Miami River and south Miami including Homestead. His father also founded the Miami Burglar Alarm Company, Inc. at which Charles, his sisters and their spouses worked.

He was a 1937 graduate of Miami Senior High School and received a Business Administration degree (Accounting) from the University of Miami in 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and was graduated from Officer Candidate School at Miami Beach, Fla. and commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army-Air Corps’ Signal Corps. While stationed at Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Ala. he met a beautiful young lady, Nell Jones, and within a week the two were married Aug. 20, 1942. They welcomed their first-born son, Charles G. Hodges III, in July 1943.

Charles served out the war in the U.S. and in the Pacific Theater and was among the first U.S. military forces in occupied Japan. After the war he served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1965. His awards and decorations include the American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three campaign stars, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation (Japan) Medal, Air Force Longevity Ribbon with four oak leaf clusters, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze hourglass device, Air Force Small Arms Marksmanship Ribbon, the Philippine Independence Military Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal with campaign star.

Following WWII and into the next decade four more children arrived. Charles, with his wife and family as owners and operators of the Miami Burglar Alarm Co., Inc., built it into one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the southeastern United States.

Following the death of his eldest son, Capt. Charles G. Hodges, III in Manila, the Philippines in May 1971, he sold the company and retired in 1972. Afterward he and Nell moved to Atlanta in 1979 where they enjoyed more than 25 years of retirement traveling and each pursuing their own hobbies, volunteering and helping the next generation of 12 grandchildren to develop good characters, strong ethics, and morals. His skills and interests were wide-ranging and included photography, wood-working, horticulture, world travel, fitness, and his family.

He was a former officer at the Shenandoah Presbyterian Church (Miami) and an active member of the Peachtree Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the Miami and Atlanta Kiwanis Clubs for more than 60 years. He was a Scoutmaster in Boy Scout Troop 370 (Miami) for several years. A kind and devoted husband and a loving father, he was known for his wit and humor.

Charles faithfully and lovingly nursed Nell during her years of illness and ultimate death in August 1999. He had many healthy years left after Nell’s death before broken bones and illnesses began to slow him down. He generally remained active physically and very sharp mentally until recently--always getting the “Jumble” and crosswords before we could. He is now taking “strong and healthy strides” in Heaven with his beloved family.

He is survived by four children: two daughters, Beverly Kitchin and her husband William, of Pylesville, Md., and Susan Zdencanovic and her husband John of Atlanta, and two sons, Richard Hodges and his wife Judy of Blair, S.C., and George Hodges and his wife Janet of Birmingham, Ala. Also 12 grandchildren: Rebecca, Jennifer, and Kathryn Kitchin; Mary Lee Reynolds, Charles, John, and Joseph Hodges; Christopher, William, and Carrye Hodges, and Ben and Tim Zdencanovic and six great-grandchildren: Caroline and Luke Hodges; Jonathan and Catherine Hodges; and Jacob and Natalie Reynolds. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his beloved wife of 57 years, Nell Jones Hodges, and a son, Capt. Charles G. Hodges, III (USAF) and his sisters, Jean and Eleanore.

His daughter Beverly and sons Richard and George, along with their mates, wish to acknowledge and profusely thank the Zdencanovic family, John, Susan, Ben, and Tim for their loving and constant care of our father for the past eight years of his life as he made his home with them. Their deep love and unfailing devotion to our father is profoundly appreciated and words cannot express our thankfulness to each of you for your loving and sacrificial service. Dad could not have lived out his remaining years in a more loving environment than the Zdencanovic home.

The family thanks Visiting Nurse Association Hospice for making his transition an easier one.

Services will be held at H. M. Patterson & Son-Spring Hill Chapel in Atlanta at 12 p.m. noon, Mon., June 10, 2013, conducted by the Rev. Dr. Steve Huntley and Rev. Richard Hodges. The family will receive friends an hour before the service. Burial with full military honors will follow at Arlington Memorial Park Mausoleum, Sandy Springs, Ga. Memorials to the charity of one’s choice perhaps remembering his special love of animals or helping the wounded warriors of today’s conflicts.