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Tributes
John Hodges
Mayor Hodges was old school
By Rusty Carter
WILLIAMSBURG
Straightforward is how most people described John Hodges, a retired Army colonel who was mayor of Williamsburg during the late 1980s and early ’90s. He died Jan. 23 at Williamsburg Landing at the age of 91.
“You always knew where he stood on any issue,” recalled Frank Force, retired city manager.
Hodges was known for running efficient meetings. “He didn’t treat it as a politician,” said Steve Harris, who served with him during 1984-92. “He always approached the job as what was best for the city.”
He also built consensus among council members. “You didn’t see 3-2 or even 4-1 votes,” Harris added. “Of course, we weren’t on TV then. He didn’t worry about politics or about getting re-elected.”
“It wasn’t about self-engrandizement,” noted Mary Lee Darling, who served 16 years on council, four with Hodges. “We were very gentlemanly toward each other. It was a tight group, and it was all about what was best for the city.”
“He didn’t suffer fools lightly,” Harris added. “He listened to people, then made up his mind.”
He was born in Richmond in 1918 and came to Williamsburg as a child when his father was named dean of Men at the College of William & Mary. He graduated from Augusta Military Academy in 1935 and William & Mary in 1939 before going into the National Guard.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1941 concurrent with federalization of the 111th Field Artillery, 29th Infantry Division. He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day and went on to fight in the Battle of Saint-Lô as an artillery captain.
His combat experience as an artillery observer is acknowledged in a World War II remembrance of the famed Stonewall Brigade of the 29th Infantry Division, composed predominantly of National Guardsmen from Virginia.
In the early evening of Aug. 5, 1944, when American forces approached the Medieval town of Vire deep in the Normandy peninsula, Hodges registered artillery fire on a German tank that had “lurched into view.” “The first shell,” recalled Charles R. Cawthon in his memoir, hit “directly in front of the turret in a spasm of flame. Through field glasses, I saw the tank rock like a poleaxed steer, its tracks shedding dust and its gun silenced.” Vire was taken the next day.
Long-time newsman Will Molineux asked Hodges about the encounter after reading Cawthon’s book, published in 1990. “He let the question float in the air, without answer,” Molineux said.
After the war Hodges and Edna Elizabeth Ames were married in 1946 in Mississippi. His career took him to posts in the United States, Korea, London and Heidelberg. In Germany he served as deputy provost marshal for Europe, and provost marshal for the Seventh Army.
Hodges was awarded three Legion of Merit medals, a Bronze Star, and the Chungnu Distinguished Military Service Medal with Silver Star.
He returned to Williamsburg as professor of Military Science at W&M in 1969-72, when protests over the Vietnam War peaked.
He fostered a lifelong interest in history, boxwoods, antiques, clocks and old buildings. He saved “Cedar Ridge” (Pretlow House), an endangered 1758 Surry County farmhouse, reassembling it in Williamsburg in 1974.
Hodges served 1974-80 on the city Planning Commission. He was elected to the first of two terms on City Council in 1984 and served as mayor 1986-92.
“We were fortunate to serve in the ‘old way’ of doing things,” Harris noted. “My first lesson on council was to keep the city in sound fiscal shape. We didn’t borrow a lot. John kept that in mind.
Harris cited Walmart’s failed attempt to build at what is now High Street. “If we were only basing the decision on economics, it would have passed.”
Force reiterated that conservative notion. “He tried to keep the city the way it used to be. Not a lot of new development.”
Darling agreed. “He wanted to keep the ambiance and the livability that made Williamsburg an extraordinary place to live.”
Immediate survivors include his wife of 63 years, Lib Hodges; his elder son, John Howard Hodges and wife, Vandivere Potts Hodges, of Ashland; his younger son, Charles Thomas Hodges and wife, Mary Ellen N. Hodges, of Williamsburg; his grandson, John Ames Hodges and wife, Yumiko Yamamoto, and their son, Yugo, of New York City; and his grandson, Benjamin Kidder Hodges, of Macau, China.
Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. this Wednesday, Jan. 27, at Bucktrout of Williamsburg. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Bruton Parish Church, with interment at Cedar Grove Cemetery immediately following. A memorial service pending final arrangements will be held at Woodhaven Manor, Williamsburg Landing.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust, PO Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250 or the Haiti Relief & Development Fund, American Red Cross, PO Box 4002018, Des Moines IA 50340. Online condolences maybe registered at www.bucktroutfuneralhome.net
Straightforward is how most people described John Hodges, a retired Army colonel who was mayor of Williamsburg during the late 1980s and early ’90s. He died Jan. 23 at Williamsburg Landing at the age of 91.
“You always knew where he stood on any issue,” recalled Frank Force, retired city manager.
Hodges was known for running efficient meetings. “He didn’t treat it as a politician,” said Steve Harris, who served with him during 1984-92. “He always approached the job as what was best for the city.”
He also built consensus among council members. “You didn’t see 3-2 or even 4-1 votes,” Harris added. “Of course, we weren’t on TV then. He didn’t worry about politics or about getting re-elected.”
“It wasn’t about self-engrandizement,” noted Mary Lee Darling, who served 16 years on council, four with Hodges. “We were very gentlemanly toward each other. It was a tight group, and it was all about what was best for the city.”
“He didn’t suffer fools lightly,” Harris added. “He listened to people, then made up his mind.”
He was born in Richmond in 1918 and came to Williamsburg as a child when his father was named dean of Men at the College of William & Mary. He graduated from Augusta Military Academy in 1935 and William & Mary in 1939 before going into the National Guard.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1941 concurrent with federalization of the 111th Field Artillery, 29th Infantry Division. He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day and went on to fight in the Battle of Saint-Lô as an artillery captain.
His combat experience as an artillery observer is acknowledged in a World War II remembrance of the famed Stonewall Brigade of the 29th Infantry Division, composed predominantly of National Guardsmen from Virginia.
In the early evening of Aug. 5, 1944, when American forces approached the Medieval town of Vire deep in the Normandy peninsula, Hodges registered artillery fire on a German tank that had “lurched into view.” “The first shell,” recalled Charles R. Cawthon in his memoir, hit “directly in front of the turret in a spasm of flame. Through field glasses, I saw the tank rock like a poleaxed steer, its tracks shedding dust and its gun silenced.” Vire was taken the next day.
Long-time newsman Will Molineux asked Hodges about the encounter after reading Cawthon’s book, published in 1990. “He let the question float in the air, without answer,” Molineux said.
After the war Hodges and Edna Elizabeth Ames were married in 1946 in Mississippi. His career took him to posts in the United States, Korea, London and Heidelberg. In Germany he served as deputy provost marshal for Europe, and provost marshal for the Seventh Army.
Hodges was awarded three Legion of Merit medals, a Bronze Star, and the Chungnu Distinguished Military Service Medal with Silver Star.
He returned to Williamsburg as professor of Military Science at W&M in 1969-72, when protests over the Vietnam War peaked.
He fostered a lifelong interest in history, boxwoods, antiques, clocks and old buildings. He saved “Cedar Ridge” (Pretlow House), an endangered 1758 Surry County farmhouse, reassembling it in Williamsburg in 1974.
Hodges served 1974-80 on the city Planning Commission. He was elected to the first of two terms on City Council in 1984 and served as mayor 1986-92.
“We were fortunate to serve in the ‘old way’ of doing things,” Harris noted. “My first lesson on council was to keep the city in sound fiscal shape. We didn’t borrow a lot. John kept that in mind.
Harris cited Walmart’s failed attempt to build at what is now High Street. “If we were only basing the decision on economics, it would have passed.”
Force reiterated that conservative notion. “He tried to keep the city the way it used to be. Not a lot of new development.”
Darling agreed. “He wanted to keep the ambiance and the livability that made Williamsburg an extraordinary place to live.”
Immediate survivors include his wife of 63 years, Lib Hodges; his elder son, John Howard Hodges and wife, Vandivere Potts Hodges, of Ashland; his younger son, Charles Thomas Hodges and wife, Mary Ellen N. Hodges, of Williamsburg; his grandson, John Ames Hodges and wife, Yumiko Yamamoto, and their son, Yugo, of New York City; and his grandson, Benjamin Kidder Hodges, of Macau, China.
Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. this Wednesday, Jan. 27, at Bucktrout of Williamsburg. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Bruton Parish Church, with interment at Cedar Grove Cemetery immediately following. A memorial service pending final arrangements will be held at Woodhaven Manor, Williamsburg Landing.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust, PO Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250 or the Haiti Relief & Development Fund, American Red Cross, PO Box 4002018, Des Moines IA 50340. Online condolences maybe registered at www.bucktroutfuneralhome.net
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