Kaneaster Hodges Jr. (August 20, 1938 – March 23, 2022) was an American politician who served as a
United States senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
from 1977 to 1979. Hodges was appointed to the Senate to serve the remainder of Senator
John Little McClellan
John Little McClellan (February 25, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American lawyer and a segregationist politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1935–1939) and a U.S. Senator (1943–1977) fr ...
's term after he died in 1977.
Early life
Hodges was born in
Newport, Arkansas, the second of six sons of Kaneaster Hodges Sr. and Harryette Morrison Hodges. He graduated from Newport High School in 1956, and achieved the rank of
Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...
. This achievement is cited as being one of his proudest.
He attended
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, graduating cum laude in 1960 with an A.B. in religion after completing a senior thesis titled "George Bernanos: A Twentieth Century Prophet." Later that year, on June 26, he married Ruth Lindley Williams, whom he had gone to high school with. In life, they would have two children, Kaneaster Hodges III and Harryette Lindley Hodges. The two moved to
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
and Hodges attended
Perkins School of Theology
Perkins School of Theology is one of Southern Methodist University's three original schools and is located in Dallas, Texas. The theology school was renamed in 1945 to honor benefactors Joe J. and Lois Craddock Perkins of Wichita Falls, Texas. De ...
at
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, ...
, graduating magna cum laude in 1963. He participated in the Methodist Student Movement, where he served as national president traveling the country in support of civil rights.
Hodges and his wife moved to
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
in 1963, where he pastored two churches, the Acushnet Wesley Methodist Church and the Long Plain United Methodist Church. He commuted to
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
where he earned a second master's degree in Pastoral Counseling. They moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1964, where Hodges was a chaplain intern at Riker's Island Correctional Institution.
Hodges moved to
Fayetteville, Arkansas to attend the
University of Arkansas School of Law
The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M) ...
. He was named editor-in-chief of the university's Arkansas Law Review. After graduating in 1967, he followed his father and brother at the Hodges, Hodges, and Hodges Firm.
Law and political career
During his career, in addition to practicing law Hodges was a farmer, Methodist lay minister, and hospital and prison chaplain. He served as city attorney for Newport and deputy prosecuting attorney for
Jackson County, Arkansas
Jackson County is located in the Arkansas Delta in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The county is named for Andrew Jackson, a national hero during the War of 1812. By the county's formation in 1829, Jackson had become the seventh President of the Un ...
, from 1967 to 1974.
Hodges worked for incumbent Senator
John Little McClellan
John Little McClellan (February 25, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American lawyer and a segregationist politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1935–1939) and a U.S. Senator (1943–1977) fr ...
’s campaign for senator in 1972. McClellan defeated
David Pryor
David Hampton Pryor (born August 29, 1934) is an American politician and former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as the 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 a ...
in the Democratic primary, and went on to win the general election. In 1974 Hodges coordinated Pryor's successful gubernatorial race in eastern Arkansas.
In 1975 Hodges was legislative secretary for Governor Pryor. From 1974 to 1976 he was chairman of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, and he was a member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from 1976 to 1977.
In 1977 Senator
John Little McClellan
John Little McClellan (February 25, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American lawyer and a segregationist politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1935–1939) and a U.S. Senator (1943–1977) fr ...
died in office. Pryor appointed Hodges to serve out the remainder of McClellan's term. His time in the Senate was most noted for his stands in favor of the Panama Canal treaties and against tuition tax credits for parents of private school students. Under Arkansas law, an appointed Senator was not allowed to run for a full term. Hodges stepped down at the end of his term in 1979, and was replaced by Governor Pryor, who won the 1978 election for a full term.
Later life
Hodges returned to Newport after his Senate term. He became involved in several business ventures, including real estate development in Arkansas and adjoining states. He was also active in several civic and charitable causes, including the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Nature Conservation Foundation, Winrock International, and the Arkansas Justice Foundation.
The Lindley and Kaneaster Hodges Jr. Reading Room at the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
in
Fayetteville is named for Hodges and his wife.
He was the uncle of Minneapolis Mayor
Betsy Hodges
Elizabeth A. Hodges (born September 7, 1969) is an American politician who served as the 47th Mayor of Minneapolis from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented Ward 13 on the Minneapolis Ci ...
.
He died from an aortic aneurysm in Little Rock, Arkansas, on March 23, 2022, at the age of 83.
Kaneaster Hodges Jr. obituary
/ref>
References
External links
Kaneaster Hodges Jr.
at the ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Kaneaster Jr.
1938 births
2022 deaths
American prosecutors
Democratic Party United States senators from Arkansas
People from Newport, Arkansas
Princeton University alumni
Arkansas Democrats
Perkins School of Theology alumni
University of Arkansas School of Law alumni