Warner Hodges, prominent Memphis attorney, died April 10, 2021 at his home in Germantown, Tennessee at the age of 99. He was born in Memphis on September 13, 1921, the son of Warner Hodges and Ida Hodges. He grew up in Memphis, graduating from Southwestern (now Rhodes College) with a major in Chemistry. While at Southwestern, he was President of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
In 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army and, because of his degree in Chemistry, was sent to the highly secret Army facility at Los Alamos, New Mexico, to work on the Manhattan Project in the development of the Atomic Bomb. For his essential work in contributing to the successful conclusion of World War II, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the then U.S. Secretary of War, Henry Stinson.
After the war, he attended Vanderbilt University School of Law on the GI bill, graduating in 1949. After a few years in private practice, he was appointed as an assistant U.S. District Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, and was later appointed as the U.S. District Attorney by President Eisenhower, where he served with distinction, prosecuting crime in Tennessee. His brilliance was exemplified in the courtroom, and in 1961, he left government service and returned to private practice where he utilized his criminal skills to become one of the foremost criminal defense attorneys in Memphis, earning acquittals for several prominent public officials.
However, his true passion was land investment and development. He developed several parcels of real property, including the shopping center at Bull Frog Corner in Mississippi, and other industrial and commercial developments in West Tennessee, as well as a resort development on Pickwick Lake.
He was married to the late Barbara Rees Hodges, and is survived by their three sons; namely, Rusty Hodges, Lincoln Hodges and Geoffrey Hodges. Rusty and Lincoln followed him into the practice of law, as did Lincoln’s son, Rees Hodges. He is also survived by five grandchildren; namely, Justin Hodges, Courtney Hodges, Holli Hodges, Rees Hodges and Allison Hodges Bravo. Additionally, he is survived by six great grand-children; namely, Warner Hodges, Henry Hodges, Hudson Hodges, Penelope Marquez, Andrew Hodges and Elizabeth Bravo.
Visitation will be held at Memphis Funeral Home, located at 5599 Poplar Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m., followed by a service at 2:00 p.m.
