Obituary of Dale Hodges

May 19, 1941 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

December 31, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

Dale Hodges passed away peacefully on December 31, 2023 following a lengthy illness at the age of 82 years.  Dale was predeceased by his parents, John Phillip and Helen Laverne Hodges.  He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Yvonne, and his brother Bryan (Cheryl), and nephew Ryan (Trish).

Dale was born on May 19, 1941 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and when he was 5 years old his family moved to Alberta.  Dale and Yvonne married in 1971 and bought a house in Bowness in 1972 where they lived until 2016.  Their home was badly damaged in the flood of 2013 which was a few months before Dale retired from City Council.  They lived in Parkdale 2016-2021 and then bought a house in Varsity which has been their home since then.  They have been members of Foothills United Church for over 50 years.

Dale attended Crescent Heights High School and completed his B.A. from the University of Alberta.  Dale was a librarian with the Calgary Public Library from 1967 to 1983 including at the local Varsity Library before the construction of Nose Hill Library.  Due to the inequities of pensions, Dale helped organize a union for the library staff.

Dale was the longest serving member of Calgary City Council as the alderman for Ward 1 for 30 years from 1983-2013.  Dale served with 5 mayors and over 50 aldermen.  He also served on the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board for over 37 years.

Dale was a dedicated public servant and played a key role in the preservation of Bowmont Park, Nose Hill Park, Baker Park, the Douglas Fir Tree Sanctuary, and Varsity Ravine Park.  The eastern part of Bowmont Natural Environment Park was dedicated in 2019 as Dale Hodges Park in recognition of his hard work to transform the former gravel pit into the beautiful park it is today.  The park won the 2021 Award of Excellence from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. 

Other highlights during his tenure on Council were the extension of LRT to the northwest, the 1988 Winter Olympics, The Urban Parks Plan, the Enmax Legacy Parks Program, the Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs, countless planning studies, and numerous major transportation and recreational projects including Crowchild Twin Arenas.  One of his last motions to be adopted by Council was to change the name of elected representatives from Alderman to Councillor, a more gender-neutral term.

Dale was well known for his encyclopedic knowledge, photographic memory, and amazing archivist abilities.  He could find virtually any document among his vast collection of papers which occasionally included documents City Administration had misplaced.  He was known as a fiscal hawk and consistently had the lowest expense claims on Council.  Dale was very supportive of all the communities and residents in Ward 1 and went to bat for them on many issues over the years.

Most people are unaware of how far Dale’s commitment to his constituents extended.  For example, in the late 80’s there was a problem with the roadway between the Greenwood Village mobile home park and Belvedere Parkway School making it unsafe for children to walk to school.  The City could not build a proper pathway fast enough so out of his own personal funds,  Dale purchased a yellow school bus and hired a bus driver to transport the children in the park to and from school for over a year until completion of the road improvements.

Dale had many hobbies including bee keeping, bird watching, hiking, speed skating, hockey, curling, and reading, especially about WWII.  He loved football and was an ardent supporter of arts and culture. 

Dale had a strong sense of justice, a great sense of humour, and worked tirelessly in service to individuals, communities, and the city at large.  It was his calling and he was very influential in the development of Calgary.

Funeral Services will be held at Parkdale United Church (2919 – 8th Avenue N.W., Calgary, AB) on Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Reception to follow in the Church Hall. A video of the service will be posted the following day at Vimeo.com/dalehodges/celebrationoflife. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dale Hodges Graduate Scholarship in Political Science at https://engage.ucalgary.ca/Dale-Hodges-Graduate-Scholarship.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Dale’s family  here.

In living memory of Dale Hodges, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Crowfoot, 82 Crowfoot Circle NW, Calgary, AB T3G 2T3, Telephone: 403-241-0044.