Memorial services for Melody Hodges, 68, of Portales will be at 3:00 PM, Sat., Sept. 16, 2017 in the Wheeler Mortuary Chapel with Franklin Smith officiating. All of Melody’s many friends will be honorary pallbearers.
Melody Marie Hodges was born April 1, 1949 in Portales to the home of Margie Marie (Durham) and James Edwin Bulls and died at her home near Portales on Sept. 12, 2017. Melody graduated from Farwell High School in 1967, and soon after that married Alvin Moore. They made their home in the Bethel community, and Melody began working for the State of New Mexico. She and her children moved from there and lived in Carlsbad, Lubbock and finally Amarillo before she returned in 1986. She went back to work for the state as a Social Worker. On May 29, 1992 in Portales, she was married to Harold “Winky” Hodges. Melody retired from her position with New Mexico in 2011. Since then, she sometimes helped at the Veggie Shack on the Clovis Highway.
Melody was a very cheerful and outgoing person and always had a ready smile. It was her goal to make a new friend every day everywhere she went. She always enjoyed teasing and laughing with family and friends alike.
She belonged to two different bowling leagues, and bowled every Monday night and Wednesday morning. She had gone bowling as recently as a week before her death. Melody was an excellent cook. Ribs and dumplings and lots of fresh vegetables were specialties of hers. But everything she cooked was wonderful, and she loved to cook whatever her grandson, Matthew, asked for. Melody also enjoyed painting rocks for the Tex-New Mex Rock group to make people smile. She was an excellent pool player, and enjoyed playing games, especially Bunco.
She is survived by her husband, Winky Hodges of their home; three sons, Michael Hodges and his fiancé, DeLisa Luce of St. Vrain, Joe Hodges of Clovis and Blaine “Burr” Hodges and his wife, Kim of Perris, TX; five daughters, Cindy Reese of Portales, Mandi Park and her husband, Jimmy also of Portales, Geneva Moore of Clovis, Amy George of Wolfe City, TX and Netha Hodges of Stephenville, TX; 18 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; three brothers, Shane (Norma) Bulls of Lubbock, Rock (Sherri) Bulls of Amarillo and Jace (Dorothy) Bulls of Portales; and a sister, Harmony (Randy) Hardin of Lubbock. She was preceded in death by both of her parents.
