She was preceded in death by her parents, Rufus and Dora Frady, and her two brothers, Ralph and John Frady. She is survived by her beloved husband of 65 years, James Hodge; her three children, Sharon Dykhoff (Don) of Fairfax, VA, Marcia Becker (Robert) of Arvada, CO and James Alan Hodge of Candler, NC; her six grandchildren, Rachel Summers of Amissville, VA, Katherine Meier of Charlottesville, VA, Anna Patch of Arlington, VA, Matthew Dykhoff of Fairfax, VA, Christine Montgomery of Winchester, CA, and Helen Louise Becker of Arvada, CO; and eight great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Stella Stowe, of Greenville, SC.
Louise was born May 30, 1934 in Stephens County, GA and was the valedictorian of the 1951 graduating class of Stephens County High School. She graduated from Bob Jones University in 1955 with a BS degree with a dual major of Business Education and Office Management. Two days after graduation she married James Hodge of Mechanicsburg, OH. She then went to work as an office manager for a Greenville, SC, firm while her husband finished his degree at Bob Jones University. She and her husband then spent a year teaching at a high school in Covert, Michigan. The couple and their young daughter, Sharon, moved to Ann Arbor, MI, where she helped support the family and gave birth to a second daughter, Marcia, while her husband earned an MS degree at the University of Michigan. The couple, now with two daughters, moved to Houston, TX, where she fulfilled her responsibility of mother and homemaker. The couple then moved to State College, PA where she supported her husband as he earned a PhD at Penn State and gave birth to a son, James. Now as a mother of three children, she and her husband moved to North Carolina. While raising the three children, she embarked on a career as a very successful real estate broker. In 1980 she was named Realtor of the Year in Greenville, NC. She and her husband later moved to Midlothian in 1981where she continued her work as a realtor while her husband worked for DuPont.
As an empty nester, she was able to travel widely in the world accompanying her husband in his business travels. At the same time she became a doting grandmother of her six grandchildren and later on, her great-grandchildren. She loved arranging flowers and won prizes as a member of the Salisbury Garden club. As an accomplished seamstress, she made several beautiful quilts for the family. She did some landmark family genealogical research as well, but most of all she loved all of her family.
The family will receive friends from 6pm to 8pm on Thursday, April 29, at the Woody Huguenot Chapel Funeral Home. A graveside service will be held in the chapel at the Amelia Veterans Cemetery for family and a few invited friends on Friday, April 30. A memorial service at Winfree Baptist Church is planned for sometime later.
Special thanks to the staff of the Brandermill Woods Health Care Center for their tender care of Louise.
