Gerald Dee Hodges

Gerald (Gerry) Dee Hodges was born May 14, 1945 to Paul Arthur Hodges and Mary Merle Herbst in Salmon, Idaho. Gerry was the 4th of 5 siblings: Gene, Birdie, Lynn, and Karen. Gerald grew up in Salmon, ID and graduated from Salmon High School.

Gerald went to BYU in Provo, UT and graduated with his Bachelors in Animal Science. He met his first wife, Shauna while at BYU. They had 5 children together; their first child Jerry, Jr. was born in the final stages of college. After graduating college and starting his career with the Development Workshop in Idaho Falls, Gerald rented a small home in Ammon, ID where his second child Tonya was born. He soon found his forever home in Woodville, ID a few months later where his last three children, Bryan, DJ, and Mitch were born. Shauna and Gerald were later divorced in 1993.

Gerald loved working for the Development Workshop, where he had 42 years of service. His love started due to his eldest son, Jerry Jr., since Jerry was mentally and physically disabled. Gerald’s deep connection with his son led to his love and service for the clients of the Development Workshop. He devoted his talents there to the betterment of others.

He was a true BYU Alumni and had a love for everything BYU, especially BYU sports. He regularly attended football games and loved to watch basketball and volleyball as well. Go COUGARS!

Later in 1997, Gerald met the love of his life, Susan Marchionda and married on October 25th of that year, and were later sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on December 26, 1998. His marriage to Sue added an additional 4 step-children: Mike, Jeff, Rich and Trina; 9 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Sue was a devoted, loving wife to Gerald and made him eternally happy. They celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary the day before his passing.

Gerald was an active member in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served in multiple callings. He faithfully served a mission in the Alaska-Canadian Mission. Gerald and his wife Sue served as service missionaries at the Home Storage Center in Idaho Falls. One of his favorite callings was serving on the BYU-Idaho Campus where he grew to love and serve the students of BYU. He also enjoyed singing in the church choir, participating in Ward Bazaars and in Stake Roadshows and Ward plays.

The family expresses their extreme gratitude to Brio Home Health and Hospice, especially to Stacie, Shannon, Johnny, and Aimee for their tender care of Gerald in the past several months.

Gerald was proceeded in death by his parents, older brother Gene, and his eldest son Jerry Jr. He is survived by his wife Sue; children Tonya (Taylorsville, UT), Bryan (Shelley, ID), DJ(Somer) (Rigby, ID), Mitch (Stacie) (Ammon, ID); 4 step-children, 16 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Friday, October 31, 2025 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 W. Oak St., Shelley, ID 83274. An additional viewing will be held Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 9:30 – 10:45 am, with the funeral to follow at 11:00 am at the Woodville 2nd Ward Chapel, 1555 North 700 East, Shelley, ID. Interment will be in the Woodville Cemetery.

Those who would like to participate in the funeral service remotely are invited to view the service on a live broadcast at the following link:

https://zoom.us/j/97470568056

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