Julia Bythewood Hodges

1945 - 2025

Julia Bythewood Hodges, a native of Savannah, Georgia, passed away October 31, 2025 surrounded by her loving family. Born in Savannah on May 8, 1945 to Robert Hubert Hodges and Sarah (Sally) Stillwell Hodges, she grew up in Ardsley Park in a very tight knit circle including her sisters and cousins as well as many friends she kept throughout life.

From an early age, Julia displayed remarkable artistic talent. She was recognized with a scholarship to the Telfair Art Academy for her exceptional sketches and perspective paintings. Her love and passion for painted art would stay with her until her passing and allow her to spread her joy to clients, friends and family.

At Savannah High, she was voted Senior Best Personality, Senior Class Treasurer, Beta Club member and was a cheerleader. After graduating from Savannah High School in 1963, she attended the University of Georgia where she was an active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Repeating a theme throughout her life, she made many friends through Kappa that she stayed in close contact with for the rest of her life. In keeping with her passion for art, she graduated from UGA with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Later in life she became a member of The National Society of Colonial Dames and joined the Portrait Society of America where she found more new friends to share her life.

Julia's passion for art was eclipsed by few things in life. But primary among those were her two children, Hodges & Catherine. As a single mom with two young children, she continued to sharpen her skills through her career at the United States Corps of Engineers in Savannah and then Heery International in Atlanta, often providing renderings, drawings, and portraits of retired co-workers. Throughout those years while raising her children, she pursued commissioned artwork, but only on weekends as time would allow. In 2006, she chose to follow her passion full-time, devoting herself entirely to portrait and landscape painting. Throughout her professional life, she has touched the lives of many throughout the Southeast with her portrait paintings and commissioned artwork.

However, the most important priority for Julia was her faith in Jesus and her desire to live a life that glorified God in all she did. She started each morning in her bed with her coffee and Bible. She studied God's word every day and desired to know it, understand it and share it with others. She was a devoted member of multiple weekly Bible studies and was a longstanding member at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta, where she participated actively in The Blazers Sunday school class. She is survived by her son, Robert Hodges Bradberry and his wife Cynthia Roberts Bradberry of Atlanta, Georgia, and their three daughters, Ella (25), Martha (22), and Frances (20); and by her daughter, Catherine Bradberry Sharpe and her husband Thomas Henry Sharpe of Dallas, Texas, and their three children, Jack (24), Tyler (22), and Campbell (19). She is also survived by her devoted sisters, Jane Hodges Moore, married to The Honorable William T. Moore Jr., and Meta Hodges Gibbs as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins. Julia will be remembered for her abiding faith, her love of family and friends, and her extraordinary ability to see and share beauty through her art. Her paintings, her friendships, and the lives she touched stand as a lasting testament to a life lived with grace, faith, and purpose.

A memorial service will be held at the Peachtree Road United Methodist Church Chapel in Atlanta, GA, on November 10, 2025 at 11 a.m. with a reception to follow at the church. At a later date, the family will host a graveside service in the Greenwich section of Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA. In celebration of Julia's life and eternal life in heaven, the family asks that all attendees dress in bright colors as a testament to our hope in Jesus.