Ingola Kuntze Hodges

05/13/1945 - 10/16/2025

Ingola Hodges died peacefully at home in Washington, DC, on October 16, 2025. She was 80.

Ingola's early years contributed to her adventurous nature, love of life, sense of humor—and lionhearted spirit. She was born in Offenburg in Germany's Black Forest on May 13, 1945, five days after Victory in Europe Day. As a child, Ingola and her brother Sven played in the rubble of bombed buildings. Her first contact with the United States was through American soldiers, who handed her chewing gum, and she went on to have young friends at the U.S. Embassy.

Her father, Ingolf Kuntze, was a stage and film actor and a theater director in Berlin. Her mother, Ursula (von Nathusius), worked for the U.S. Occupation government and then joined the German Foreign Service. Ingola spent her early European years in Frankfurt; Bonn; Munich; Communist-controlled Erfurt; a vineyard overlooking a village near the Black Forest; and Paris, where her widowed mother was Press Attaché at the German Embassy.

Ingola first came to Washington in her teens, when her mother was Press Attaché there. After completing her studies at Sprachen & Dolmetscher Institut München (Languages and Translators Institute Munich), she returned to Washington and used her talents to become an international travel consultant. She arranged and accompanied trips such as the American Bar Association to London; the Washington Ballet to Cuba; the Shakespeare Theater Company to Athens; and the Sulgrave Club to several far-away places. You would see her with fellow travelers soaring in a balloon over Cappadocia in Turkey; observing tanks and missiles rumbling by in Moscow; admiring falconry in the sand dunes of Dubai; getting splashed by the Iguazu Falls in Argentina; or exploring historic gardens and estates in England. Her sense of adventure and strong character lasted to the end. She and her husband John moved to Houston for many months to participate in a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center. As one doctor said, Ingola left it all on the field.

Ingola married John Hodges in 1972, and together they raised four children in Washington. She opened the world to her children—arranging trips and studies abroad and student exchanges with other families, as well as nurturing a bilingual home. She and her family developed deep friendships on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ingola loved the village-like warmth of Georgetown, chatting with neighbors and gathering with other dog owners at Rose Park—a bamboo telegraph of the neighborhood. She loved being with family and friends, and played bridge and golf ("I don't do sand or water"). For Oktoberfest, Ingola put her 6' 2" figure into a dirndl; and for Christmas, she oversaw building of the family's extensive crèche, with figures carved in Oberammergau. Hosting was in her nature; she opened her home for garden and house tours; and she spent much time arranging flowers at Christ Church, Georgetown. She was a member of the Sulgrave Club and the New Scotland Garden Club.

Devoted survivors include her husband John; son Sven, his wife Liese Dart Hodges, and their children James and Florence; son Eliot, his wife Christine Hsieh, and their children Sophie and Wolf; son Philip; daughter Stephanie, her husband William Perkins, and their children Ingola, Philip, Flora, and Louisa; and her brother Sven Kuntze, his wife Inka Schneider, and children Sophie and Klara.

A service will be held at Christ Church, Georgetown, 3116 O Street NW, Washington, DC, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 20.

In lieu of flowers, contributions would be welcomed at the American Cancer Society or a charity of one's choice.