Jesse Quitman Hodges, age 90, lifetime resident of Cedar Key, died
Sunday, November 20, 2005. Mr. Hodges was born to Mollie Luttrell
Hodges and Tyler Hodges in the annex area of the historic Island Hotel
on December 4, 1914, and lived nearly all of his life on Cedar Key`s
main street.
He quit school in the 10th grade to become a commercial fisherman to
help support his mother, elderly father and younger siblings, Lucille
and Willard.
During World War II, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, with his
parents and his sister Lucille and her husband Joe Wilder and their
children. They moved there to work at the Merrill Stevens shipyard,
and they stayed for the duration of the war. While in Jacksonville,
his father and his 25-year-old sister both passed away.
Upon his return to the island, he and his widowed mother took
guardianship of his two nieces and nephew and weathered lots of storms,
including the hurricane of 1950 which took the back off of their
two-story, 14-room home next to the Island Hotel. Fearing the
structure would collapse with his family inside, Quitman crossed the
street to the home of Randolph and Mildred Hodges and tied the end of a
rope which the children and adults gripped as they crossed the flooded
street while the storm roared around them. After the storm, Quitman
salvaged all the lumber he could to rebuild their home on the same
property, where he resided until his death.
At one time, the smallest man in town owned the largest boat. Quitman
was a very skilled boat captain, and he proudly maneuvered his
42-foot-long "Miss Caledonia," with ease. Also, in the 1960s and
1970s
he owned and operated "Hodges Marine and Supplies" which was located
alongside the old Post Office in the building which now houses Capital
City Bank. He was at work there when he developed the severe back
problem which eventually put him on crutches and then into a
wheelchair.
Quitman was a Charter Member of the Cedar Key Lions Club, and was
appointed by the Governor to the original Cedar Key Special Water and
Sewerage District Board when it was created by the state in the 1960s.
He was first elected Cedar Key`s Mayor in 1962, and except for 1976,
served the city as either Mayor or City Commissioner until his defeat
in the 2003 election. He dedicated most of his life to the City of
Cedar Key, and over the course of 41 years in city government, he
served as Mayor for eight years. He was a member of the original Cedar
Key Volunteer Fire Department, and was able to oversee that department
as time passed by serving as the Fire Department liaison to the
Commission. For many years he spent each day at the City Hall, and
was able to act as a living historian throughout his life. To insure
access to the wealth of his city knowledge, in 2003 the City hired him
to act as a consultant and historian.
The Cedar Key Volunteer Fire Department previously had planned a
dedication ceremony and open house for Saturday, December 3, at 11:00
am, at which time they planned to honor Quitman with the presentation
of a plaque dedicating their new firehouse the "J. Quitman Hodges
Firehouse." Even though now the guest of honor won`t be present for
the dedication planned for his birthday, Chief James McCain told him of
the plaque a few days before he passed away, and he chuckled.
He will be missed by many, including his survivors, two nieces, Shirley
Wilder Beckham of Cedar Key, and Jannie Wilder Williams of Port
Charlotte, and one nephew, Bobby Joe Wilder of Dunnellon and Cedar Key,
and his 19 great- and great-great-nieces and nephews. Services for Mr.
Hodges will be graveside at the Cedar Key Cemetery on Tuesday, November
22, at 11:00 am. 
J.Q Hodges celebrating his 89th birthday (shown with Chris and Grace Cowart)
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