Bob Hodges was born with cerebral palsy.
Some people might consider that a disability. For his parents, Herman "Hank" Hodges and Jean Hodges of Greenwood, it was an opportunity.
Hank Hodges said Saturday that it was a gift to have a handicapped son. "Bob inspired us to do so many things in life … his outlook on life was so beautiful. He loved everybody. I think we learned from him."
Bob Hodges, 54, died at his residence in Greenwood Friday, January 19, 2007. Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. today at St. John's United Methodist Church.
Visitation will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. today at St. John's. The Rev. Warren Coile will officiate at the services.
Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery in North Carrollton.
Mr. Hodges was born June 11, 1952. He was the inspiration for Beacon Harbor, a home and work place for mentally and physically challenged adults.
"It worked for everybody's benefit … If we had not had him, we would not have had Beacon Harbor," Hank Hodges said.
When he was young, Bob's parents sent him to rehabilitation institutions. For several years they thought he would be able to learn to walk. They brought him home when he was 8 years old.
Beacon Harbor serves as a specialty place where the handicapped could do small projects. At the time that it opened, there was nothing else like it in Mississippi. It was chartered as a nonprofit corporation in 1981.
Jean Hodges named the center, which she wanted to be "a beacon of love and a harbor of hope."
When Bob needed a place to live, she got the idea of building homes at the center. The first home for six male residents was completed in 1984.
Bob's family said he never met a stranger and had many kinds of friends, including NASA Astronaut Franklin Chan-Dias.
"He was interested in everything that he saw," Hank Hodges said.
Chan-Dias once allowed him to visit the weightless station in Houston, he recalled. "I got to tour a lot of things because of Bob."
Bob Hodges was a member of St. John's United Methodist Church, where he sang in the Rainbow Choir.
