HODGES, Roy

Posted: February 9th, 2021

Roy Norman Hodges

1930 – 2021

A humble man of God with the mighty heart of a servant went home to be with the God he loved and to be reunited with Doreen, the love of his life, on February 5, 2021. He was gentle in all his ways. Roy grew up on an Alberta farm and that was always the life he loved best. He spent the majority of his working life with Doreen in Nigeria as Christian missionaries, bringing his gifts of mechanical innovation and ability to fix anything to every situation. He said toward the end of his life that any activity that resembled life on the farm, like working the land, driving trucks and machinery, and fixing things, were the most-loved parts of his job on the mission field.

Roy and Doreen raised five children in Nigeria – Norm, Frances, Alan, Don and Paul. It was a rich environment, and though there were difficult times, all of us are thankful for the experience of being raised in a culture wildly different from the North American one to which we eventually returned.

Our Nigerian friends loved my dad, especially when they discovered that he and my mom spoke their native language, Hausa. It was difficult to learn another language as that did not come easily to him, but he persevered and became proficient. We watched in awe as he bargained with vendors at the Sokoto market every Friday when we drove the twelve miles to town to get supplies. We lived at Amanawa Leprosarium where mom worked in the hospital and dad was in charge of all the maintenance of the compound. People were drawn to his easygoing manner. While at times he was required to be in positions of leadership, he preferred to work quietly behind the scenes whenever he could.

He loved his wife Doreen with all his heart and was continually overwhelmed with affection and gratitude for his children. He loved seeing the directions we all took in life, the partners we chose and the grandchildren and great-grandchildren that came along. He took immense delight in Melissa, Ken, Alison, Minea, Naté, Nicola, John, Charlotte, Elliot, Jill, Matt, Soren, Mike, Jenn, Oscar, Mae, Megan, Andrew, Kiri, Linus, Jennifer and Rachel.

We will miss his gentle spirit and his warm delight in all of us.

A private family memorial service will be held.

Roy will be laid to rest beside his loving wife Doreen in Victoria at a later date.

Visit www.mbfunerals.com to send a condolence.

One Condolence for “HODGES, Roy”

  1. Jeannine Thompson says:

    I never knew your family, but I was touched reading your father’s obituary! May we all be told, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” as surely your parents were!

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