John W. Hodoway II

John W. Hodoway II of Little Rock, Arkansas passed away on February 4, 2011, after a brief illness at Tarpon Springs, Florida. A native of Hawarden, Iowa, he was born on March 8, 1922. His maternal grandmother was Oglala Lakota Sioux and he was especially proud of being related to Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. He graduated from Hawarden High School and attended the University of Iowa, where he met and married Virginia Belle Hyde of Little Rock. After their marriage, they set up housekeeping in Little Rock where he worked at the Jacksonville Ordnance Plant before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in World War II. He served in the Eighth Air Force in England, North Africa and the European Continent during the war. After the war, he studied law and joined the Veterans Administration in Little Rock. His career included a 4-year posting to the Philippines, where he was the liaison officer for Vietnam, and then went to the VA Central Office in Washington, DC, from which he retired in 1984. After his retirement, he returned to Little Rock and managed his rental property. He was also a principal in Seacoast Yacht Charters and President of Tarpon Travel Service until his death. He went to many travel conferences and conventions and loved to read and do crossword puzzles. He did the crossword on Thursday before he died on Friday morning. He had an interest in the theater and participated in a community drama group that was the forerunner to The Rep in Little Rock. He was a Lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, a member of the NRA, CLIA, NACTA, Lion's Club, The Sierra Club, AARP, The Smithsonian Institution and The American Legion. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Arlington, Va. and First Baptist Church in New Port Richey, Fla. where he attended faithfully. He is survived by one son, John W. Hodoway III (Marilyn) of Little Rock; one daughter, Sue Hodoway Nutt (John Burney) of Holiday, Florida; three grandchildren, Jon Eric Hodoway, Tracie Nutt Canada, and Rebecca Nutt Womack; eight great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, John W. and Edith Hodoway, his sister Gwendolyn Broline of St. Petersburg, Florida, his first wife, Virginia Belle and second wife Ala Mae.