Raymond Roy Hodge was born on Thursday, October 2, 1941 at home in Port Elgin, to parents Joseph and Lillian “Florence” (Herbert) Hodge. Ray was the fifth youngest of fifteen children, with older siblings, Victor (1923), Arthur (1925), Frederick (1927), Grace (1929), Rose (1931), Glen (1932), Bert (1935), Charlie (1936), Marjorie (1938), Helen (1939) and younger siblings, Don (1943), Gladys (1944), Carleen (1946) and Shirley (1948). He attended school in Port Elgin before entering the workforce. Ray worked a variety of factory jobs in the Port Elgin and Southampton area in his early years. In fact, he worked for one employer three times in this time period.
It was Labour Day weekend 1968 and as fate would have it Ray met Anna Gelyk at a pay phone, after her shift at Huron Restaurant. The two talked until Anna’s father picked her up. Ray called her two weeks later and as they say the rest is history. The couple were married at Knox United Church, Paisley on March 22, 1969 by Rev. Graydon Cox.
The newlyweds spent a few weeks with Ray’s parents before getting an apartment on their own in Port Elgin. In 1973 Ray and Anna moved to the outskirts of Paisley before moving to Tara in 1976. They have called Tara home for the last 42 years.
Shortly after marriage, Ray soon returned to school at Georgian College to pursue bookkeeping. Within weeks, he became a father as Andrew was born in 1970, followed by Michael (1972), Corinna (1973) and Mathew (1981). Ray began working for Miller Electric, as a bookkeeper in 1972 and remained with them until the business was sold in 1996. He soon moved on to become a Walmart greeter in Owen Sound for the next thirteen years until he retired in 2008.
Ray loved crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, roller-skating when he was younger and was a collector. He had a collection of coins and stamps, baseball cards, with his most unique collectable being the movie buttons he wore and collected from Walmart over the years. When Ray had some free time he loved to go for a drive. Often he would set out after lunch and it was not uncommon for him to be gone until supper time. Ray had one challenge however when driving and that was that he had very little sense of direction. On more than one occasion his arrival at home was delayed to a least one wrong turn. Another pastime for Ray was TV. When not watching Netflix he could often be found watching one of his favourite movies. It may have been Sound of Music, Driving Mrs. Daisy, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Fool and the Flying Ship or maybe even Scrooge, but no matter the movie he enjoyed every minute of it. Ray also had an amazing knack for reciting poetry. All you had to do was bring up some titles from his younger years and away he would go with amazing accuracy all these years later.
Ray was a kind, outgoing, fun loving man with a unique sense of humour. He got along well with his siblings and was well liked by his many nieces and nephews, always willing to help out. He took his role as father seriously and instilled an admirable work ethic in his children, a characteristic that will live on in his family for many years to come.
Raymond Roy Hodge of Tara, passed away at South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Chesley on Thursday, June 8, 2017 in his 76th year.
Beloved husband of Anna (Gelyk). Loving father of Andrew of Port Elgin, Michael (Brenda Armes) of Caistor, Corinna Hodge (Brad Clark) of Dobbinton and Mathew of Hamilton. Cherished grandfather of Cole, Justin and Samantha. Ray will be fondly remembered by his siblings Glen (Shirley), Marjorie (Norm) Kaufman, Carleen Rushton, Shirley (Bill) McIntosh and sisters-in-law Betty Hodge, Phyllis Hodge and Mary Hodge. He will also be missed by the Gelyk family and numerous nieces and nephews. Ray was predeceased by his infant granddaughter Stefanie Clark; brothers Victor, Arthur, Fred, Albert, Charlie, and Donald; sisters Grace Ferguson, Rose Hodge, Helen Kennedy and Gladys Cannon; and his parents Joseph and Lillian “Florence” (Herbert) Hodge.
Cremation has taken place with a private family inurnment in Sanctuary Park Cemetery, Port Elgin. An informal, come and go celebration of Ray’s life will follow at Tara United Church (33 Market St., Tara) on Saturday, June 17, 2017 from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society, Chesley Hospital Foundation or The Kidney Foundation of Canada would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.
