Name: Memory Gardens Funeral Home & Cemetery
Address: Corpus Christi, TX

Bill and to your family: I know from personal experience that this is a difficult time for you - and difficult is different for each of us - your grief processes will vary. You will move through similar but different stages and your timing will also be different. Tune into where you are for this is indeed a learning process; a growth process; and a healing process. Just remember that our God showed you grace and mercy for he allowed you to be with your loved one when God came and got him - God took him away ... Just think the Lord selected and chose your loved one before the foundation of the world to be with him for eternity and he came and got him-, what peace he must have shown at that moment in time when the Lord took him away. That is something to comprehend! Marva

William J. Hodges, Sr....Uncle Joe. Around home we affectionately referred to him as "The Professor." A man who delighted in knowing the small details of one's events and activities, he penned even life's simplest moments into books of remembrance. He will be missed.

Anita Paige  (Bethlehem, PA)

CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE         

New address--This is to notify you that Mr. William J. Hodges, Sr has moved. His new address is # 1 Heaven Lane in Jesus Land. A gated community reserved for “special individuals”.

Mr. Hodges left here on May 17th 2010 at 6:10 am and arrived at his new location 10:00 am on May 20th, 2010.
Your prayers and good wishes followed him and are most appreciated.

During his life time he has lived many places--starting in Fayetteville, NC. Born October 23, 1918.

Married his sweetheart, Salena M. Leggett on October 17th, 1940.

Entered the US Navy on November 9th, 1943. Served in the Pacific during WW II
Honorably discharged on January 4, 1946.

Moved to Philadelphia, PA with his family where he spent his next 40 years working his fingers to the bone.

Retired in 1981 and moved back to Fayetteville, NC with his lovely wife.

Worked hard in re-building 811 Barnes St. (birth location of Salena and Joe Jr.)also original home of the Leggett family. 

December 20, 2009 moved to Corpus Christi, TX with his wife of 69 years, to be near his one and only son, Jr and Jr’s wife, Colette Simon-Hodges.

December 21, 2009 went to Spohn Shoreline Hospital Rehab.

January 2, 2010 moved to Wooldridge Nursing Center.

May 10 moved to Angel Bright Hospice Facility where he passed on May 17.

Tribute to Mr. William J. Hodges Sr.

I met him on a bright summer day of 2004. At that time, I was still dreaming of becoming a performer.  I was taking voice lessons.  I was singing all the time, everywhere and to everyone.  So, when I met Mr. Hodges and his wife, I offered to sing for them.  They kindly accepted. And, boy …, did I sing for them!  I knew then, Mr. Hodges was a nice man for putting up with my signing.  

In 2007, I was invited to his 67th wedding anniversary. I was honored to be part of such a celebration, thinking all along that he must have been a really nice man to have stayed happily married for so long, when some of us cannot stay together 67 days.  His gentle demeanor and his soft and calm voice were to me, a reflection of his goodness.

I got to interact with him more up-close and personal when he relocated to Corpus Christi this past December. He came ill.  He went from being healthy, ambulatory and independent one day, to suddenly being wheelchair bound and physically dependent of others, the next day.  Despite the lack of transition from health to sickness, he accepted his misfortune with great courage. He never complained, cried or asked for pity.

In all the healthcare facilities he frequented, Christus Spohn Shoreline Hospital, Wooldridge Place and lastly Angel Bright Hospice, the comment from all medical and nursing staff was the same:  “Mr. Hodges is such a nice man! He never complains.”

I thank God for his peaceful passage.

May He receive Mr. Hodges in His kingdom.

Colette Simon-Hodges.
May 29, 2010.

OBITUARY

William J. Hodges Sr.

October 23, 1918 – May 17, 2010

Memory Gardens Funeral Home & Cemetery

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