Roger G. Hodge

Roger G. Hodge, 78, of Lampasas passed away on Tuesday, November 17, 2020, at his residence. Memorial Services will be held at noon on Saturday, November 28, 2020, at Sneed Funeral Chapel. Interment will follow at Smith Cemetery at School Creek with military honors. Brother: A brother is a person who is there when you need him; someone who picks you up when you fall; a person who sticks up for you when no one else will; a brother is always a friend. Roger definitely personified that description. He was an honorable, trustworthy, honest, and wonderful man and brother that will be sorely missed. We love you big brother. Roger was born on January 30, 1942, in Lampasas to Keston O.P. Hodge and Iolah Azalea Hill Hodge. He was the third child born to this couple and the first boy. He grew up and graduated high school in Lampasas. After high school, he worked for Kellogg, Brown, and Root as a foreman, had his own construction business for years, and also worked at Craft Automotive Shop in Lampasas. When he was in high school he worked for Witcher Darnel TV repair in Lampasas. Growing up in Lampasas Roger attended Broad Street Church of Christ. He enjoyed deer hunting, drag racing, country, and western dancing, and building cars. He raced at Little River Academy drag raceway when he was in his late teens and early twenties and was only beaten once. He had a huge collection of trophies. His baby was a 1961 Chevy Impala Supersport, black in color, but had to sell it upon entering the Air Force. Roger joined the United States Air Force in 1964 and served honorably for 4 years. He was stationed at Lackland AFB, Chanute AFB in Illinois, U-Tapao AFB in Thailand, and Little Rock AFB in Little Rock, Arkansas before being discharged in 1968 at the rank of SGT. He was flown into Vietnam frequently to repair bombers used in the war to bomb and used also for the distribution of Agent Orange to defoliate areas in Vietnam. He told of being flown to California at times to repair different planes because no one else could figure them out as well as him. He had a great ability to find solutions to problems and repair them. There was not much that Roger could not build. After his military service, he worked in construction and car repair. When Roger was working for Brown and Root Kellogg as a foreman, he helped work on many different projects such as the Nuclear Plants in Glen Rose, Texas. Roger was amazing and has built bridges, such as the one on Hood Ranch, which passed inspection the first time around. When the TX DOT inspector came out he asked Roger what school of engineering he went to and Roger just grinned and said, "Well, it was the school of hard knocks." He built a number of dams for different people that were a masterpiece in ingenuity. They had spillways with controls and the bridges and dams are still in use today. Roger did a lot of work at the Hancock Golf Course in Lampasas and the spring area and bridges being used are examples of his work. Roger married Marcia Lammey in Granbury, TX on October 24, 1992, and they were happily married until her passing in 2008. Survivors include his siblings, Betty Hodge Poe, Patricia Ann Hodge Thornal (Bill), Keston Bradley Hodge (Mary), Azalea Dell (A. Dell or Cissie) Hodge Aldinger, Alicia Nell Hodge Lane; nieces and nephews, Beverly Maddox, Bobby Dale Poe, Jr., Barry Poe, Brent Poe, Besty Poe, Bryce Poe, Raymond Michael Aldinger, Matthew Alan Aldinger, Keston Bradley Hodge, Jr., Billy Richard Hodge, Grady Hodge, Richard Thornal, Renee Thornal Wade, Ronnie Thornal, Christopher Lane; and step-granddaughter, Andie Henderson of Las Vegas, Nevada. Story of Roger the family wishes to share: When Roger was stationed in Thailand and they had flown him into Vietnam to repair some of their bombers during the TET offensive of 67-68, their crew and plane started taking fire from the VC and the plane was taxing down the runway to take off to avoid damages and casualties to the crew. Roger had his toolbox and was running down the runway with the other airmen telling him to hurry and drop the toolbox so he could catch up with the plane and be pulled up. Roger told the other guys, "Hell no, I'm not leaving without my tools!" He actually caught up with them while running at breakneck speed with that full toolbox and they grabbed him and pulled him in. That Lampasas country boy was not about to give them his tools!