A house RESOLUTION

 

TO REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF Sonya Renae Hodges OF RICHLAND COUNTY, TO HONOR HER REMARKABLE COMMITMENT TO PRESERVING HISTORY, and to EXTEND THE DEEPEST SYMPATHY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON HER PASSING TO HER LARGE AND LOVING FAMILY AND HER MANY FRIENDS.

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of Sonya Renae Hodges at the age of sixty on Tuesday, February 21, 2023; and

 

Whereas, born on April 11, 1962, she was the daughter of the late Aubrey Thompson Hodges and John Wesley Smith, Sr., and was reared in a large and loving family. She carried with her the values taught to her by her parents and instilled them in her children, along with a love of oldies music; and

 

Whereas, after graduating from Dreher High School in Columbia, Ms. Hodges earned a bachelor's degree in public affairs from Columbia College. She received certifications in disaster preparedness and recovery from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and in international humanitarian law from The American Red Cross; and

 

Whereas, affectionately known as "Momma Nae," Ms. Hodges dedicated her life to highlighting and preserving Black history from the Frogtown Segregation Wall to the Shop Road Cemetery. In her efforts to preserve and restore the Child's Cemetery, home of the soldiers from the 371st Infantry Regiment 93rd Division consisting of African American men from the South who served during World War I, she learned about her own grandfather Sancho Thompson and the 371st Regiment; and

 

Whereas, she authored three books and left a great legacy of honoring her homestead, the original Frogtown community of Shandon Annex. She traveled extensively to speak on behalf of various projects and assisting in them, such as the Cornbread Jubilee, Celebration of Breads, and the American Red Cross, and she participated in the agriculture census through the USDA; and

 

Whereas, devoted to her community, Ms. Hodges was a member of the Sertoma Club and was the cofounder with the late John Bradley of the Veterans Formation at Bethlehem Baptist Church; and

 

Whereas, she reared ten fine children: Aaron "Mister" Hodges; Aubrey Colena Scipio; Terry D. Scipio II, CLU; Theresa Scipio; Gerrie Latonya Green; Chief Warrant Officer Robert Miguel Sayles; Sergeant Keyanna Mikell-Scott, MSHA; Mary Brianna Chappell, BSN, RN; Kwanda Grantham Mikell; and Rihoanna Smith Bacote.  Her children blessed her with the affection of eighteen loving grandchildren for each of whom she created her own pet nicknames, and she was grateful to see the continuation of her legacy in one great-grandchild; and

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the life and legacy of Sonya Hodges, an illustrious historian, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and orator, and for the example of perseverance and service she set for all who knew her. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, remember and celebrate the life of Sonya Renae Hodges of Richland County, honor her remarkable commitment to preserving history, and extend deepest sympathy to her large and loving family and her many friends.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Sonya Renae Hodges.

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