Harold Richard Hodgson

Harold Richard “Dick” Hodgson passed away at Christiana Hospital on September 28 at the age of 88. He was born in Betterton, MD to Margaret and Jonathan Hodgson in 1936. Dick attended Centreville High School and then the College of Business and Public Accounting at the University of Maryland, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. Upon graduating in 1959, he moved to Washington DC after accepting a government accounting position. During this time, mutual friends set him up on a blind date with Doris Beachboard. Dick and Doris were married in 1963 and settled in Wilmington, DE. There, Dick worked for Acme Markets and Phoenix Steel before taking a position with Atlas Chemical/ICI Americas, where he worked as a computer systems analyst for more than 25 years. Dick and Doris raised two sons and remained together for 57 years, until her passing in April of 2020.

Growing up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland gave Dick a strong love for the water. He owned a series of small boats, had a second home in Rehoboth Beach and enjoyed many annual fishing trips to Canada with his friends. He expanded his social life in his later years after buying and restoring two Studebakers, a 1950 Commander and a 1963 Avanti, joining a classic car club and participating in car shows. He was known by friends and family as a problem solver, who was always reliable for practical advice and was equally handy around the house. Dick also loved college basketball, his rescued Boston Terriers and meeting up with his friends for weekly breakfasts and happy hours, right up until the end of his life.

Dick’s left leg was amputated shortly before the age of two when infection set in following surgery. Despite this, neither he nor those who knew him viewed him as disabled, as it never prevented him from doing anything he wanted to in his lifetime. He retained his mobility and continued to live an active life until he sustained injuries from a fall a few months before his passing.

He is survived by his sons Richard R. Hodgson (Margaret) of Baltimore, MD and J. David Hodgson (Amanda) of Bloomfield, NJ, his brothers William Hodgson of Chestertown, MD and Jonathan Hodgson of Annapolis, MD and his sisters Elinor Raleigh of Chestertown, MD and Marjorie Corley of Walkersville, MD.