Lamar Hodges

Ernest Lamar Hodges died peacefully at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio on Saturday, November 18, 2017. Lamar was born on February 1, 1944 at 6:45 p.m. in Comfort, Texas, to Ernest "Sam" Hodges and Alice Corder Hodges . He was a third generation Kerr Countian, being the great grandson of the first District Clerk of Kerr County, Sidney Benner Rees, when the Kerr County Courthouse was located where Grimes Funeral Chapels is located today. \r\n\r\nLamar was a lifetime resident of Kerr County. He attended Center Point Schools for the first 8 years of his education and 4 years at Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas, graduating in 1961. He then attended Texas Tech University, first majoring in architecture design and then accounting. \r\n\r\nHe returned to Kerrville in 1966 and was employed by a individual C.P.A. for 7 years before joining the then Plummer Funeral Home on May 1, 1973. The Plummer family sold the funeral homes to John & Susie Grimes on April 1, 1977. On January 1, 2007, the Grimes sold the funeral home to their son, Johnny Grimes. Lamar continued working for the Grimes employed as controller of Grimes Funeral Chapels., Inc for the rest of his professional life. In addition to his employment with Grimes, he maintained a bookkeeping and income tax practice and was a licensed real estate broker.\r\n\r\nIn June 1978, he married Jewell Jones Hodges. She passed away December 23, 2002 after a long battle with cancer. They had no children.\r\n\r\nThanks to the internet, Lamar met the love of his life, Armando Tamez from Monterrey, Mexico on Labor Day 2005. After three weeks of endless chatting and phone calls, he decided to fly down to Monterrey to finally meet Armando in person on September 24. He always claimed that Armando was shaking when he gave him his first bear hug once he got off the plane. Only after their first weekend together, Lamar asked Armando if he wanted to pursue a relationship! After Lamar's second visit to Monterrey in October, Armando was able to come down to Kerrville for the first time to stay with him for a while in November. A week later, on Thanksgiving Day, Armando replied to Lamar's original question with a very happy YES, I DO, and from then on, they were truly inseparable. They finally got legally married in Mount Ayr, Iowa on July 22, 2013.\r\n\r\nLamar's hobbies included gardening, crafts, listening to classical music while reading books or playing solitaire on his Kindle. But in the other hand, he used to say that he was at his happiest working outside on his property on a beautiful day, specially driving his own tractor. He was a great cook, enjoyed fixing big breakfasts and meals, and after a long and hard day he loved to sit down to watch the news at 5, sipping on his favorite drink. He loved to travel with Armando to Cancun and Monterrey every year, enjoyed some trips to Colonial Williamsburg, and in May 2017 they went to Europe for the first time, spending 10 days in Valencia, Spain.\r\n\r\nIn addition, Lamar was a member of the Masonic Lodge and Order of Eastern Star since 1965 as well as the Lion's Club. For many years, he enjoyed being a Dog Show Steward on shows all over Texas and some other states. He was very passionate about Kerr County's history.\r\n\r\nLamar had a big generous heart, a loud and contagious laughter, and was always willing to help everybody. He took special care of his tax return clients, especially if they were old ladies, and for students, he always did their tax returns for free.\r\n\r\nLamar is survived by his beloved husband Armando Tamez. He is also survived by his sister Laverne Peterson. He was predeceased by his parents, Ernest and Alice Hodges, sisters Dorothy Alice Howard, Eloise Goodrich and Betty Lee Burney.\r\n\r\nMemorial services will be held 10 AM, Thursday, November 30, 2017 at Grimes Funeral Chapels officiated by Father David Wagner and his longtime friend and co-worker, Charles Gray. \r\n