David Roland Hodges
December 15, 1969 - August 13, 2015
Obituary
David Roland Hodges, 45, formerly of Lakeland, FL, died at his home in Vashon, WA, on August 13, 2015, as the result of a pulmonary embolism.
He was born December 15, 1969, in Lumberton, NC, to Francis R. and the late Barbara Gillis Hodges. He attended primary and elementary school in Wayne County and Craven County, NC, and finished high school at the Milton Hershey Academy in Hershey, PA. In 1994, he graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Florida Southern College, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity.
Dave was an avid outdoors’ enthusiast with a special love for fishing and water sports. Before he was two years old, he was able to swim underwater for the length of a public swimming pool. At Milton Hershey he was on the school swim team, and he later earned National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) certification to qualify as a SCUBA teacher. The terrible damage to his lungs which eventually led to his death was sustained many years ago when his car was struck by an intoxicated, unlicensed driver while on a scuba diving trip in the Florida Keys. Dave recovered sufficiently to work for a few years as an aquatic sports instructor for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in the Bahamas and in Labadee, Haiti, and for Red Sails Sports in the Cayman Islands. In more recent years, he had been employed at various other jobs, including those of automobile salesman, truck driver, construction worker, track coach, and Special Education teacher in both Florida and North Carolina. His skill at working with his hands enabled him to perform nearly any task required for maintaining or improving a home. At the time of his death, he was living on Vashon Island in Puget Sound and had recently completed a course to become eligible for a ship pilot’s license.
Though Dave’s life was filled with personal struggles, he took seriously the charge to serve others and always found time to do so. On several occasions, he assisted in serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless at Lighthouse Missions, and he often performed difficult tasks without pay. Recently, he spent a day digging a deep trench for a neighbor who needed a place to install a septic tank and lacked the funds to have it done.
In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by his paternal and maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. F. Roland Hodges and Mr. and Mrs. David B. Gillis, all at one time residents of Mount Olive, NC. He is survived by his father and stepmother, Francis R. and Marianne M. Hodges, of Lakeland, Florida; his brother and sister-in-law, Lawrence Albert (Al) and Angela Hodges of Kathleen, Georgia; two nephews, Shea and Lincoln Hodges; one niece, Alana Hodges; an aunt, Charlotte H. Maxwell of Goldsboro, NC; two uncles, Milton B. Gillis of Louisville, KY, and Dr. David B. Gillis, Jr., of Houston, TX; and his beloved yellow dog, Shiddy, rescued by Dave when she was only eight weeks old. His wit, charm, and instant likeability have also insured that he leaves a large number of friends throughout many parts of the country.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the SPCA Florida Adoption Center, 5850 Brannen Rd S, Lakeland, FL 33813, or to your local SPCA.
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light!
– Edna St. Vincent Millay
David touched many of our lives and will be missed dearly. He was not only my fraternity brother but a great friend!! RIP David!!!
Remembering you on this day, comforted by so many memories.RIP David..!!!
To my Milt brother, I was privileged to have the opportunity to know you and call you my friend. You always made swim team fun Rest in peace Dave you will be missed.
We’re all very sad you’re gone but extremely happy for all the hilarious, zany and ridiculously off the wall memories you’ve left all of us with! You’re one of a kind, Hodges! Until we meet again…Rest In Peace, brother.
I’m going to miss you Dave. I have been thinking of all the fun times we had diving, camping, making furniture and just hanging out. I am glad I was able to see you this spring in Lakeland and mad I wont be able too again. You may be gone but your memory will live on forever. Good bye my friend.
Gone way too soon! You will be missed but never forgotten. You always had a smile that now will grace the halls of heaven.
Dave its hard to believe we’ll never see you again. Im so glad you were a part of my MHS family. RIP my milt brother
A more genuine, generous soul does not exist. As my coach and my friend, Coach Hodges changed my life for the better. Never backing down from what he felt was right despite personal risk, Coach was always a champion of people society had forgotten or ignored. Sad to imagine a world without you in it.
Rest in peace my friend. You had a knack of making me laugh and to not take myself too seriously. We all need that in life.
Thanks for the laughs, Coach Hodges. May you rest in peace. We remember you fondly.
Thank you for being a great Teacher in my life. So sorry to hear bad news.
RIP our friend! We had many adventures in the Keys, the Bahamas and Cuba. Thank you for all the adventures and being our personal diving instructor. One of our wildest memories was being in the Bahamas scooting along a deserted island in a dingy with you and my husband and a Tiger shark attacked our dingy almost tipping us in the water. We will see you again in Heaven.
Dave, you touched so many lives. Words can not express how much you will be missed.
Every time I think of Dave, I know that a smile comes to my face. Dave was always the fun-loving person in the group and kept the mood light. I have many memories of our time together that will be cherished forever.
“Death may part friends, but the friendship lives on forever as long as one friend remains to remember.” Unknown
R.I.P. Brother till we see you again.
RIP my friend. I won’t ever go fishing again without thinking about you all day long. You were a great friend and I will miss you more than I can express.
Such great times and great memories with you my good friend. You will be missed by many.
I’ll miss you Dave. You were surely of life’s unique characters who had a bigger heart than most. I’ll miss your zany ways and the intense debates we so often had. I always admired you for living life your way and how you brought joy to others. Your passing leaves a huge void, but your memories will be cherished forever. Until we meet again, take care. My thoughts are with you and your family, especially your Dad (Dr. Hodges).
Dave. What can I say. You are one of the funniest people I knew. I remember even on the football field you being a comedian. Again, I wish I knew all your hobbies and the fact that you worked for Royal Carib. I have lots of family that work there and I am a rescue diver in PADI. I could have done so much more with you. Life caught up and after high school we went different ways. I should have kept in touch. You are missed and can’t wait till the next time I see you. Keep the angels and everyone laughing there eyes out. Oh and GOT YA! LOL.
An unfortunate, premature loss. Rest in peace.
Davee, it has been one year and there is so much I want to say but I tend to get extremely wordy so I will just say…… I miss you! ……love you …
Dave
I still miss you. I keep an album with your pictures in it on the coffee table and I look at it every morning It helps though it still hurts
Love
Dad
Devasted to now know I won’t see you again. You were truly a beautiful person and a great roommate !
Peace be always with you.