James R. Hodges of Wilmington Delaware passed away on January 14, 2020 at the age of 91.
Jim was born in Detroit Michigan, the son of George and Elizabeth Hodges. He spent most of his childhood on Lake Angelus near Pontiac, where he developed a life-long passion for the outdoors – hunting, fishing, skiing, swimming and most especially building and sailing boats. After graduating from Pontiac High School, Jim attended MIT and received a degree in mechanical engineering, worked for Boeing in Seattle and then served two years in the Army. While in the Army he met his future wife Margaret Hill, a life-long Delawarean, on a double blind date. After completing his service in 1956, Jim and Margaret got married and settled in Wilmington, where they lived for most of their 63 years of marriage.
Jim was a person who defied traditional labels; everyone who met him remembered him. Engineer, inventor, artist, boat builder, crazy idea guy, genius, volunteer, Sunday school teacher, family man, friend and neighbor. He had a gift for being a little ahead of his time. He liked to help people, and to make things fun. If he had an idea (and he had a lot of them), he would build it, try it out and share it with everyone: seatbelts, sidewalks, bike paths, greenways, mountain bikes, bikes with sails, cleaning up Wilmington’s rivers, helping build the Kalmar Nickel, Habitat for Humanity, access ramps for the disabled, neighborhood parades, and even a life-size pink elephant. Jim was always there in the beginning, before it was cool, turning an idea into action, building something, doing something, motivating people to join in. No matter what, Jim was there when you needed him whether you were family, a neighbor, church member, or stranger. He didn’t ask, he just jumped in, even if it meant risking his own life to try to save another’s. He got the ball rolling and when others picked it up, he would step aside, not caring who got the credit. He just wanted the world to be a happier, better, safer place.
Jim is survived by his wife of 63 years, Margaret Hill Hodges; children Mary and Mark Kenneally of Milford, George and Maggie Hodges of St Simons Island, Ga., and David and Sandy Hodges of St. Petersburg, Fl., grandchildren, Benton Acker, Parker Hodges, Meagan Hodges, Connor Hodges, Lauren Hodges, and Leanne Hodges, sister Susan Benn of Rye, England. His daughter, Catherine Joyce Hodges and his granddaughter, Margaret Catherine Hodges preceded him in death.
In lieu of flowers, Margaret Hodges requests that donations be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church – 1502 W. 13th Street, Wilmington, DE 19806 or Delaware Hospice – 16 Polly Drummond Ctr, 2nd floor, Newark, DE 19711.
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