Garry Hodson

Garry Lee Hodson

Resident of San Jose

Sept. 22, 1933 - Nov. 15, 2010

Garry Lee Hodson passed away unexpectedly Nov. 15. The consummate mechanical engineer and fisherman, beloved by his family and friends, he was always ready to share his skills and fishing expertise.

Garry was born September 22, 1933, in Kokomo, IN, to Oscar and Marguerite Hodson. He and his parents spent his early years on his grandparents' farm. Lacking childhood playmates, his dog Brownie was his constant companion as he began his lifelong passion of fishing. His brother Bob joined the family in 1945.

As a child, he moved to Speedway, IN, eventually graduating from Speedway High School where he played football as a lineman, had a paper route, and was an Eagle Scout. On a recent trip to Indianapolis, Garry was delighted to find pictures of his 1950 championship football team on the wall at an Applebee's restaurant.

An airplane buff, his original plan was to be a pilot, but color blindness got in the way. He held a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute), Flint, MI, attended graduate school at the University of Cincinnati and was a licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of California. He was employed as an aerospace engineer in Indianapolis and Marietta, GA, and in 1965 began his 30 plus year career in aerospace and nuclear energy for General Electric Corporation in Cincinnati, OH. Garry moved with GE to the Nuclear Division in San Jose in 1975 and retired for the first time in January 1996.

Retirement didn't last long, and Garry returned to the workforce first as a project engineer at Lockheed Martin Corporation in Mt. View, followed by principle engineer at GE Nuclear, and mechanical design engineer at Westinghouse Corporation.

Garry would often say his biggest life change came when he met a red-headed Pi Phi from Butler University on a blind date. She wasn't his date, but he managed to wrangle her phone number, and life was never the same. Garry and Gerri Lathrop were married May 2, 1959, in Indianapolis.

Garry and Gerri are the parents of four children, two girls and two boys - the perfect family for Garry. His life totally centered on his family and his love of the outdoors. He was active in Boy Scouts with the boys, camped and water skied with them, served as an adult counselor with the Methodist youth fellowship, back packed across the Sierras, and tried to make fishermen out of them. When grandchildren came along, life was complete. He was always happiest when surrounded by his family.

Garry enjoyed fishing in the Hat Creek area, drift boat trips down the Sacramento, family weekends at the beach, camping, attending musicals and museums, and traveling worldwide. Garry was a member of the Willow Glen United Methodist Church, the Flycasters of San Jose, the Atom Club, and the GE Elephants.

Garry is survived by his wife Gerri, children: Holly Nielsen, Kristie Friedenberg (Howard), David Hodson (Christine), and Michael Hodson (Tiffany), grandchildren: Jeff and Colleen Nielsen; Jon, Megan and Sarah Friedenberg; and Tyler and Brett Hodson; and his brother Robert Hodson of St. Louis.

A celebration of life will be held Nov. 23 at 10:30 a.m. at the Willow Glen United Methodist Church, 1420 Newport Avenue in San Jose. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the Capital Campaign (for the restoration of Wood Haven) at the WGUMC, address above.