Peter Hodges

Perry- Our beloved Tony passed away on Thursday, August 30, 2018 at 1:55pm at the Beehive Home in Perry Utah. Tony was born on February 21, 1938 in Chattanooga Tennessee to Enola Joyce McGowan and his father was unknown. He was the third child of seven siblings. During his early years the family moved around a lot. His mother was in the restaurant business and Tony remembers it was either feast or famine. He couldn't wait to turn 17 so he could enlist in the Air Force. He used to watch the young pilots take off and thought they were awesome. So for the next 4 years he served in Okinawa Japan and he loved the time he spent in the service and was considering re-enlisting but his younger sister was not doing well health wise so he came home and the family moved out West to Las Vegas to be close to treatment. That is the beginning of a successful career that lay ahead of him in Nevada. He was fortunate enough to work at Central Telephone Company as an installer and a marketing director. Tony enjoyed the work very much and had the opportunity to work with a lot of the large hotels and casinos. Tony was also afforded the opportunity at this time to go to flight school on the VA loan and he was so proud of his accomliments of getting his private and commercial pilot license. This was one of the highlights of his life. During this time Tony was blessed with a son, Paul Kenneth Hodges. He always called him the crummy kid. They had a special father and son bond through Paul's growing up years. While working at Central one of his clients was the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. He was installing a new phone system for them and they offered him a job in the finance department. He was excited about this new opportunity so for the next four years he worked as the director's assistant. Then an opening came open in the operations department and he got the position as operations supervisor. In this job he loved working with all the convention and show managers and his favorite convention was the Consumer Electronics show. At this time in his life, he wanted to go to a cooler climate than the Vegas heat. Tony was offered a position as Director of Facilities in Reno Nevada at the Convention Center. It was there that he met his current wife Pam. He was looking for a secretary and hired Pam. They worked together for four years and then Tony decided to promote Pam. He fired her and married her on February 14, 1986, Valentine's Day at their home in Reno, NV. They have had 32 plus years of wonderful memories. After spending 20 plus years in Nevada, Tony decided to retire and wanted to go a different direction in his life. A friend called him one day and told him about an opportunity of a new shipping company that was looking for a manager. Tony looked into it and ended up working for this company for the next 9 years. During this time Pam and Tony moved all over the country, living in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and then back to the great state of Utah. For the past 17 years they have lived in Perry and love being back home around family and friends. The last couple of years have been a real struggle for both Tony and Pam. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2013. We are so grateful for the time we had together and sincerely thank Integrity for the compassionate care and love they have shown the last year and a half. We also thank our wonderful neighbors and friends for all of their help as well as the Perry 4th Ward for their compassionate services. The last month, Tony lived at the Beehive House in Perry. We would like to thank them for their wonderful care of Tony. Surviving family members are his wife, Pamela Gray Hodges, Perry; son, Paul Kenneth (Sherry) Hodges, Sparks, NV; 2 granddaughters, Chantel & Courtney; 1 great grandson, Carter; 2 brother in laws, Brent Lloyd (Jill) Gray & Bryan Earl Gray; brother, Carl (Dorothy) Hendershot, Yuma AZ; two living sisters in Vegas Nancy and JJ; and nieces and nephews and their children. He was preceded in death by his mother, Joyce; in laws, Earl and Billie Gray; brother, Raymond; sisters, Enola and Lydia. Graveside services will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 11:00 am, at the Brigham City Cemetery. Military Honors will be accorded.