Obituary of David Hodson

August 9, 1945 to April 24, 2023

David's name at birth was Christopher David. He quickly learned that David or Dave, was shorter to write so he choose to be called David or Dave. He was born in Leeds, England at the end of WW2. He was very proud of his father, William, who served as a pilot in the RAF. His mother, Joyce, worked in the factories building planes for the war effort. The family moved to Hamilton, Ontario when David was 5 or 6. Eventually his parents bought a house in St. Catharines where they lived and grew the family to include another son. William, and two daughters, Susan and Kathleen. David attended Parnell Public School and Lakeport High School. He worked at the Garden City Paper Mill and on it's closing he worked at Kimberly Clark Paper Mill. When they downsized, he attended Niagara College in an electronics course. That began his career and devout interest in Amateur Radio. He worked as a marine electronics technician for Henley Electronics, Marconi, Canal. and Dansk. He worked throughout the Seaway system, Great Lakes and serviced many yachts in the Georgian Bay area. He worked ships from Canada's coasts; east, west, and far north. David also worked in many countries: the U.S., Venezuela, New Zealand, and probably others that I have forgotten.

David's hobbies were hunting, fishing and amateur radio. His favorite hunting dog was Willie, a mix of beagle and basset. He loved fishing the French River. However amateur radio was his passion. He was a member of RAC, Radio Amateurs of Canada, and the Niagara Peninsula Radio Amateurs where he served as President. His call sign was VA3UL. He was a member of the “gypsies” comprised of early morning “hams” from Canada and the U.S. He was very happy to meet with some of the gypsies in Dayton and later in Fort Worth during a visit to a niece in Texas.

David loved to travel. We travelled across Canada, throughout the States, England, Scotland, Trinidad, Tobago and had plans to discover the Nipissing trail.

Thankfully he died in his sleep after a long battle with colon cancer. He will be very missed by his wife, Anne, and son Miles.

The family will receive friends at the George Darte Funeral Home & Cremation Centre, 585 Carlton St. on Monday May 1st from 12pm. A Final Tribute for David will follow in the Ceremony Room of the funeral home at 1pm. Interment Victoria Lawn Cemetery. If so desired, donations made in David's memory to the Royal Canadian Legion, Merritton Branch, would be appreciated by his family.