Remembering Willard Hodge, 1936 – 2011
Posted by Pete | Posted in News | Posted on 07-08-2011
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This week we lost a cousin, and for me, a fellow classmate….Tis sad, I’m sad and I will miss him…He is the reason I got my first spanking in grade school. He was a impish little rascal I’ll tell you…He was eating Crackerjack in class, he was not sharing them either, and he dropped them under his desk or really since he sat right in front of me, it was under my desk. The teacher came by and accused me of eating Crackerjacks in class…No mam, says I….Well, she gave me a spanking for eating Crackerjacks and for lying about it. Do you think Willard would ‘fess up about it?…..Nooooo, he just laughed while I got the spanking…I drove the school bus on the route Willard lived on..Once he was up and moving around and would not sit down. I stopped the bus and threatened to toss him off if he did not sat down. Well, he did sit down and I continued on the route. All was well until he getting off the bus, then he hit me a mighty blow in the shoulder with his fist. I chased him for a few yards, but the guy could really run fast..And he was laughing with every step….Once I used him for a spotter for me to back up the school bus and try to turn around in close quarters. He was yelling for me to come on back, come on back, wham was the sound as I hit a mail box, then he yelled, whoa!!!!…He had a good laugh about that….The boy had a good time in school, I can tell you that….But you know what, after leaving Alabama I tried to come home at least once a year to see my folks and Willard always made an effort to come see me and catch up on my life and catch me up on his life….He cared about me and he cared about my folks..He often brought his tractor over and bush hogged their property and as far as I know, never charged them a penny….So, today I’m melancholy…Remembering Willard brings to mind one verse of a Stephen Foster song, Why do I weep, when my heart should feel no pain, Why do I sigh that my friends come not again, grieving for forms now departed long ago, I hear their gentle voices calling Old Black Joe…… I suppose its the “that my friends come not again” part and yet I know full well Willard and I will see each other again in heaven, yet my old heart grieves for our loss……Later, Willard, old buddy, later……Pete Hester
I best remember Willard Hodge from the time I came home for a visit when I was stationed at Kirtland AFB. Mother and Dad had a small black dog named Buckshot at the time. The dog had really thrown a fit when Willard came into the house. He was feeding him peanuts in order to try to make friends with the dog. When I arrived from New Mexico sometime later, the dog never barked at me although I had never seen the dog before. He came up to me, a stranger, wanting to be petted. He was still upset over Willard and was still barking at him. That is the first time that I realized that a dog could recognize family members by their scent even though they were actually strangers.
It was with great sadness that I learned of Willard’s death. Although I wasn’t around him as much as Pete and my older brother, I will miss him very much.
Thanks, Errol. My sister in law attended the funeral and said it was a standing room only crowd. She also said he was a “real people person”. I think she was right.
Willard was a “people person” he loved to talk and would talk to a stranger like he had known them all his life. He will be missed…..
You are right there. He did love to visit….
Just one other special thought about dear Willard: he attended football games for Pickens CountyHigh School as long as he was able!!! He rode the FAN bus to many away games to watch my sons play even in the late 90’s and early 2000’s!!! He loved his high school and he loved the University of Alabama basketball games. He was a very unique man, just like the wonderful man who writes this blog!!!!
Oh, thanks, you certainly have good taste….