Charles Ray Hodges Sr.

Charles R. Hodges, Sr., February 15, 1934, decided to join his beloved wife of 45 years, Donna Sue Smith Hodges in the hereafter on March 9, 2013. Life just wasn't the same without his better half, who passed away November 23, 2001. His sons Chuck (46), and Jerry (42), take comfort in the fact that they are now reunited and happy together again. Services will be held at Grove Hill Cemetery on Friday, March 15, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

Charlie worked for Merck for approximately 45 years, eventually becoming warehouse manager. He spent a considerable amount of his pay on his lifetime supply of Vitalis hair tonic and cologne collection. In addition, he was generous to a fault with his children, always making sure they had the best of everything, often going without himself. He loved his grandson, Aidan (9), and made sure he had a large collection of Hot Wheels and RC cars.

Charlie never met a pair of suspenders he didn't like, even pairing them with pajamas on occasion. He enjoyed watching movies, especially The Godfather series, old westerns, war movies, and one of his all time favorites was A-cop-a-leeeees Now (Apocalypse Now to you and me). Charlie was an avid pet owner, having many many pets throughout his life. He enjoyed the outdoors, beach vacations, gardening, and coin collecting. Although he loved to complain that his meals were rarely acceptable, no one could create a more perfect sausage sandwich than Charlie.

There were no strangers in Charlie's life. When picking up a pizza, he would have a 15-minute conversation with the cashier about anything and everything and nothing. One of his favorite pastimes was making fun of his son Chuck's driving abilities. We often referred to him as our Human Clock, as we always knew what time it was without looking, based on the phone calls we received throughout the day. His middle initial, "R" stands for Routine.

Our father, father-in-law, and grandfather Charlie had a good life and made sure his family did too. He will continue to be loved in his absence, and celebrated through stories told and retold to his grandson. He will be greatly missed, but his family realizes that he is needed elsewhere. Heaven needs sausage sandwiches too.