Jean "Kathy" Kathleen Hodnett

A life well lived. Kathy passed away on May 2, 2025, at 97. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, and friend to all she met. Her family and friends will greatly miss her as she rejoins her loved ones who left this earth before her.

Kathy was born Jean Kathleen Kelly on January 31, 1928, in China Spring, Texas, the child of AJ Kelly and Lillian Siepert. At a young age, her parents divorced, and she lived with her grandparents, Jim and Jessie Elizabeth Hulme, with her mother’s help. She attended school in China Spring and graduated from Waco High School. She also attended City Commercial College.

Kathy was fortunate to have had two wonderful husbands who both preceded her in death. GW (Ike) Eichelberger and Bob Hodnett. Her sister Carol Jane Bayer and brother John Kelly preceded her in death. She is survived by her sons, Hue Eichelberger and his wife Patricia, Todd and Courtney Hodnett, and Tony and Cathleen Hodnett. Kathy also had grandchildren whom she loved dearly: Ashley Eichelberger, Bradley and his wife Mandy Sarp, Kelsey and Tyler Lasswell, Hannah Eichelberger, Olivia, James, and Cathleen Hodnett, as well as John T, Emily, and Elizabeth Hodnett. As well as Stephanie Simms and Leslie Nunn her nieces and their families.

Kathy enjoyed traveling throughout her life, most particularly on cruises. In her later years with her second husband, Bob, she enjoyed spending time at their family farm in Jonesboro, Texas. She was always on the go, never slowing down. Kathy was very proud of her State and a Texan at heart. She lived her full 97 years in the same State.

Her career was in real estate. For 35 years, she worked as a broker for Austin Century 21 Real Estate in Irving, Texas. Kathy was involved in numerous civic organizations and served as the President of the Irving Board of Realtors for a term. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Irving, Texas, for 25 years and Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth for about the same time.

Services have been scheduled at Laurel Land Funeral Home, 7100 Crowley Rd, Fort Worth, Texas, on May 12, 2025. There will be a viewing before the service at 9:00 a.m., a service at 10:00 a.m., and burial in Waco, Texas, at Oak Wood Cemetery, 2124 S. 5th Street, at 1:00 p.m.