On June 28th, we lost Mark Hodgdon, my father, at the age of 63. He was a family man, a man of industry, and a veteran. As a Force RECON Marine, a logistics and embarkation specialist, and later on an aerospace welder/fabricator/millwright, my father was a man whose life was marked by candor, humor, strength, loyalty, and an unshakable sense of duty.

It was during his Marine Corps service that he met my mother, Yvonne, a fellow Marine who had transferred from radio operations to logistics. It was love at first sight from which he never wavered. Through decades of challenges and joys, they stood together through thick and thin, for better or worse, richer or poorer, to raise a family of three children and live out their golden years as grandparents.

Now my mother finds herself facing the unimaginable in saying goodbye to her husband and managing the devastating financial burden that comes with it. My dad was on disability, and both of my parents have been living on a fixed income since retirement. She has a VA claim on file, but no benefits have come through yet and may never will. The costs of transportation, cremation, and settling his estate are more than she can bear alone.

My dad always believed that a man may not have much but his word is his bond. He lived by that principle every day of his life, and now, in this final chapter, we hope to honor that legacy by rallying a community in honor of an honest, hard-working man who gave everything he had to his loved ones.

If you feel moved to contribute, your help would mean everything. And if you're not in a position to give, a share or a kind word would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for helping us lay Mark to rest with the dignity he earned and for standing with the woman he loved until the very end.

With gratitude,

Nathan Hodgdon

Loving Son