Sydnor Falconer Hodges

SYDNOR FALCONER HODGES Born: January 5, 1920 Died: February 27, 2015 Sydnor Falconer Hodges was a kind, introspective and generous man who loved his family, classical music and Shakespeare. He entered the Church Triumphant on February 27, 2015 at the tender age of 95. Syd considered himself a "generalist" as he pursued his career in City Planning for the Boston City Planning Board and later the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington, DC. In both locales, he was responsible for proposing major programs - the Boston Government Center - and the Year 2000 Plan for the Washington metropolitan area. He took great pleasure in seeing some on-the-ground results from these efforts...although he reminisced that if he had it to do over again, he would be a natural resource preservation planner. He called his love of music "symbolic play" but it was a lifetime of listening for him. In his teens, he was an authority and fan of Benny Goodman and another thirty or so bands from the "Big Band Era" but as he matured, the Sunday afternoon broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic led him down a very different path. Thus began a love of Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Mahler, Shostakovich and many more, but no Tchaikovsky or Wagner. As for his lifetime of reading, it was purposeful and searching. It went from multi-directional towards relatively selective areas of interest - history, literary criticism, Shakespeare, Thomas Cahill, Wallace Stegner, Frost, Masefield and in the art world, Bruegel, Chardin, Heade, Klee and Kenneth Clark. He is survived by his wife, Fredrica Foster Hodges; one sister, Ellen Hodges Proxmire of Washington, DC, and six children: Rebecca (Charles) Ford; Dexter P Hodges (Rosa) of Barcelona, Spain; Charles Sumner Hodges of Silver Spring, Maryland; Courtney Hodges McFee (Douglas) of Frederick, Maryland; John Stevenson Hodges (Jennifer) of Clarksburg, Maryland; and Jane Collins Hodges of Hilton Head, South Carolina. He was blessed by six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, March 3 at 10:30 AM followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to First Presbyterian Church Local Missions Outreach Committee, Family Promise, or a charity of your choice. Arrangements under the care of Sauls Funeral Home, Bluffton, SC. www.saulsfh.com A Memorial Service will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, March 3 at 10:30 AM followed by a reception.