In Loving Memory of Don Hodson
Donald Leon Hodson was born September 13th, 1932 to Ralph & Blanche Hodson and died peacefully at home on July 30th, 2019, surrounded by family. He was the fifth of twelve children & grew up in Taylor, Nebraska where he spent his youth enjoying school sports & working on the family farm growing crops, raising animals, & helping with the dairy.
After graduating from high school in 1950 he attended Central Christian College in McPherson, Kansas for two years then headed out west to attend Seattle Pacific College where he met the love of his life, Esther Clyde. During the summer after his third year Don & Esther were married, and one day after the wedding he received his draft notice into the Army. After Boot Camp his squadron was deployed overseas but Don remained behind in the hospital due to a severe poison ivy exposure during training exercises. Once he recuperated, he was assigned to chauffeur military brass and government officials from Las Vegas to the Nevada Proving Ground where they stood beneath the fallout of the atomic bomb tests & witnessed the destruction firsthand.
Upon completion of his military service, Don & Esther returned to SPC to graduate with teaching degrees and then Don went on to obtain a masters in Math & Science. He also earned a pilot’s license and after teaching many years at Auburn High School where he also served as track coach and assistant football coach, he moved to the Federal Way School District where he started the Aerospace Science Program which prepared students to take the written test for their pilot’s license.
Don couldn’t get farming out of his blood, so he ran an extensive cattle & farm operation in the Auburn Valley. His children, Doug & Marilea worked raising calves & driving tractor to earn money for college. He also purchased a commercial crop farm in Moses Lake, WA that he owned for over forty years.
Don also dabbled in selling real estate, owning & operating residential rental properties, construction projects, substitute teaching, & serving as principal at Valley Christian School.
Don never forgot his roots & made it a priority to keep in touch with his parents & siblings. Over the years he made over sixty trips back to Nebraska to see his family.
Throughout his life Don’s faith in God and his love for Jesus was the foundation for everything he did. It was his deep longing that his entire family knew & loved the Lord. He never missed an opportunity to encourage his family & all those around him. He was very involved in his church, whether it was teaching Sunday School, leading the choir, special music, home visitations, serving as director of kid’s summer camp at Warm Beach, or helping with maintenance & remodeling.
(It was while helping to reroof the church that Don lost his ring finger!) He & Esther also participated in multiple mission trips all over the world including Africa, Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, & Bolivia.
Even as Don’s fight with Alzheimer’s progressed & he could no longer carry on a conversation he could still sing hymns, quote a word or two from scripture, and say “Jesus”. Don fought the good fight, finished the race, & kept the faith (II Timothy 4:7). We look forward to rejoicing with him in Heaven.
He is survived by his wife Esther Hodson; son Doug Hodson & wife Arloah, and daughter Marilea Kalvog & husband Keith; grandchildren Ariane Brother & husband Randy, Luke Hodson & wife Kim, Chelsea Sprague, Taylor Kalvog, and Curtis Kalvog; great-grandchildren Hailey, Kailin, Indy, Zackary, Lily, and Coraline; and siblings Bob Hodson, Doris Alexander, George Hodson, Gerald Hodson, Dick Hodson, Carolyn Cone, and Sally Hart.
He is preceded in death by his parents, and siblings Marjory Greene, Fran Tippery, Tom Hodson, and Lois Steward.
A memorial service will be held at New Day Church at 1312 2nd Street SE; Auburn, WA 98002 on Sunday August 18th, 2019 at 2 PM.