Gene Hodkin, who was born and married in the Route 66 town of Carthage, Mo., and also resided in the Mother Road town of Barstow, Calif., died at age 95 on April 25, according to the Desert Dispatch in Barstow.
An excerpt in a 2009 story about Gene and Clara Hodkin’s 70th wedding anniversary details his connection to 66 very well:
Gene, 93, and Clara, 87, were childhood sweethearts when they were married just before midnight by a justice of the peace in Carthage, Mo., where they grew up.
They were married on Route 66 – they lived there, had their first child there, and when they moved to Barstow in 1952, continued their connection to The Mother Road in their new home.
“We practically lived our whole life on Route 66, Gene recalls. “We traveled it a lot to visit relatives back in Missouri.”
He is survived by his wife and five children, 16 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.
His daughter-in-law, Deb Hodkin, is curator for the Barstow Route 66 Mother Road Museum.
A memorial service was held Monday. The family requests donations be sent to St. Jude Cancer Research, P.O. Box 50 Memphis, TN 38101-9929.