Jerome Hodges Jr.

Jerome Hodges, Jr.

Rocky Mount

Jerome Hodges, Jr. was born October 21, 1920 in Goldsboro, NC, the first child of the Rev. Jerome Hodges and Bessie Kirkland Hodges. Shortly after graduating from Goldsboro High School in 1939, he embarked on a lifelong career as an electrician. He apprenticed under the tutelage of Ralph R. Johnson at Johnson Wiring Co. in Goldsboro, NC before seeking further training at Coyne Electrical School in Chicago, IL.

While in Goldsboro, he met the love of his life – Louise Wiggins.

Jerome and Louise dated off and on for two years. Louise was the first (and would be the only) woman Jerome ever dated. They never discussed marriage, but on Christmas Day, 1941, Jerome was visiting Louise and her family in Wake County. At about noon that day, Louise’s father suggested that they go to Dillon, SC and get married. According to Jerome, they both jumped at the suggestion. They made the long trip down to Dillon, and at about 7 PM that evening, they were pronounced “Man and Wife” by a female justice of the peace. Their marriage lasted until death caused them to part, over 68 years later.

Jerome’s first job was at the naval shipyard in Portsmouth, VA at the beginning of World War II. After two years at the shipyard, Jerome joined the US Navy. His brothers Johnny Moore Hodges and James Edward Hodges having enlisted as well, his mother Bessie found herself in the unenviable, though honorable, position of having all three of her sons in the navy at the same time.

After boot camp at Camp Perry, VA, Jerome was assigned to the Navy Electrical School at Purdue University in Lafayette, IN. Upon completing the school at Purdue, Jerome was assigned to the USS Tollberg APD103, a new high speed transport being outfitted at Hingham, MA. After a shakedown trip to Bermuda, the Tollberg sailed from Norfolk, VA to San Diego, CA, transiting the Panama Canal on the way. The Tollberg continued on to Pearl Harbor and to the areas of hostilities, the far west areas of the Pacific, including Okinawa, doing anti-aircraft and anti-submarine duty.

Luckily, the war in the Pacific was winding down. After the armistice in the Pacific, the Tollberg served as an escort, protecting other ships sailing between Japan, China, Okinawa, the Philippines, and other areas. On Dec. 30, 1945, the Tollberg returned to Norfolk, VA and six days later Jerome received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Navy with the rank of Electrician Master 2nd class.

Shortly thereafter, Jerome and Louise moved to Rocky Mount, where he worked at Standard Electric Co. for about seven years. In 1954, Jerome and Louise started Hodges Electric Service which successfully operated in Rocky Mount and Eastern North Carolina for the next 30 years, eventually closing the business for retirement in 1982—Thanks, Rocky Mount.

Jerome passed away peacefully on September 16, 2015. He was predeceased by his parents, his brothers Johnny and James, and his sister, Edna Hodges Lancaster. His beloved wife of over 68 years, Louise Wiggins Hodges, passed in the summer of 2010.

Jerome is survived by his two sons, Jerome Hodges III and Betty of Rocky Mount, Wayne Bryant Hodges and Cammie of Chapel Hill, his three treasured grandchildren: Jerome Hodges IV of Cambridge, MA (MIT), Lauren Elizabeth Hodges of Durham, and Matthew Lowe Hodges of Chapel Hill. He is also survived by his sister, Rachel Hodges Cobb of Roanoke Rapids.

Graveside services will be held Sunday September 20 at 2:00 p.m. at Rocky Mount Memorial Park with Rev. Bethea Moore presiding. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you give to the charity of your choice.

On-line condolences may be sent to the Hodges family by visiting www.cornerstonefuneralhomeandcremations.com. Arrangements are entrusted to Cornerstone Funeral Home and Cremations, 1052 South First Street, Nashville, NC 27856.

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Published in The News & Observer on Sep. 19, 2015.