Celebration of Life Services honoring Sondra Gayle Hodge will be at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024 in the Chapel of Johnson Funeral Home.  Pastor Marge Robinson will lead the celebration. Family and friends will gather on Sunday from 2 p.m. until the time of service at the funeral home.

Sondra was born Feb. 10, 1942 in Wellington, Texas and died Feb. 6, 2024 in League City, Texas at the age of 81, just four days shy of her 82nd birthday.  She was in the comfort of her home surrounded by loved ones and family.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Don D. Hodge; her parents, Homer and Jessica Windle, and her brother, Johnie Clark.  

Sondra lived most of her young life in Mangum, Okla. where she graduated high school.  She then went to Oklahoma State University where she graduated with honors and became a registered nurse through the Sisters of Mercy Nursing School in Oklahoma City, Okla.

She met her husband Don Hodge in Mangum, Okla. in 1960 and in 1966 they married.  They had two children, Kevin and Kristina.  In 1974, they moved to Lake Charles and began the next chapter of their lives.  Don passed in 2002.

Sondra’s accomplishments and jobs as a nurse were to be commended.  She was at one time the Director of Nurses for a large hospital.  She became a teacher/professor at a nursing college all while living in Oklahoma.  After moving to Louisiana, she went to work as a nurse for the Office of Public Health Children’s Special Health Department.  

She had one of the most loving and giving hearts where young children/people were involved.    She loved helping children and never met a stranger.  Her many years of nursing were spent working to make a difference in children’s lives through the many programs and clinics she directed for the Louisiana Office of Public Health in Lake Charles. She worked tirelessly for over 25 years to better the lives of hundreds of disabled and disadvantaged children.  

She retired from the State of Louisiana OPH and then turned to helping children and young people through the Methodist Children’s Home of Louisiana, her local church, the Wesley Foundation on McNeese Campus and through serving many boards of directors and cabinets for multiple children’s programs in Southwest Louisiana.  She had a very headstrong demeanor where the protection and encouragement of children were concerned.   She was known for her passion to push for children’s initiatives, safety, and education when felt very strongly.

She loved her Methodist church family and was a life-long member.  Her membership at University United Methodist Church of Lake Charles for over 49 years was very special to her.  She enjoyed Bible study, singing in the choir, and serving on many committees.  She was a member of the Coffee ladies and a member of the Branches Sunday School class.  She was also very involved and supported the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home in Sulphur and Ruston.

Her greatest love was for her children and grandchildren.  The sound of her grandkids running through her house warmed her heart and made her feel like the world was gonna be ok. Her favorite song to sing to her kiddos was “You are my sunshine”, sung in her loudest “Grams” voice while sitting at the piano.   Kids of course banging as part of the duet.   Her love was boundless, and even in her darkest days of her illness, they could spark her like a no one else. “No one was ever more devoted to her family than our Mom”.

Sondra leaves to cherish her memory, two children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, with one more on the way.  She leaves her son, Kevin Hodge; daughter, Kristina Lasserre and her husband, Rhett, all of League City, Texas; grandchildren, Kaitlyn Voelkel and her husband, Patrick, of New Braunfels, Texas and their two children, Kolbie and Kohen; Kyndall Stanton and her husband, Grant of Alvin, Texas, and Kanon Lasserre of League City, Texas.  She also leaves her brother, Perry Clark and his family of Oklahoma City, Okla.; nephew, Brandon Dees and wife, Sara and their son, Jonah of League City, Texas; niece, Leah Clark of Tulsa, Okla. and nephew, David Lynn Kisselburg and wife Cynthie of Dallas, Texas.

Donations can be made to the Methodist Children’s Home in her honor at lumcfs.org.

Words of comfort to the family may be expressed at www.johnonfuneralhome.net.