A life well lived and loved. On Thursday, June 4, 2026, Jay Conrad Hodge passed away from his earthly body and entered eternal glory where he is free of pain. Our hearts and lives have a huge hole, but we are assured he is with our Heavenly Father. Jay loved life to the fullest and had a deep passion for his faith, family, fishing and English Bulldogs.

Jay was a strong believer. His dinner prayers always ended with, “Let your will be done. We love you Jesus.” Two of his favorite songs were “How Great Thou Art” and “In Christ Alone.” Jay loved his wife Chris in their 51 years of marriage, his children Heather, son-in-law Marc, grandchildren Kaitlyn, Zach and Andrew Woolman; son Josh, daughter-in-law Jessica and grandsons Joshua II and Jonathan, sisters Penny (Bob) Boyle, Sally Schultz and numerous nieces, nephews and grand-nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Haven and Jeanne Hodge and brother, Hersch Hodge.

Jay loved to laugh, goof around and talk to anyone who crossed his path. He was quick to jump in and help anyone. Diabetes education was close to his heart as he had the disease for 58 years which is pretty much unheard of. He spent time with nurses at Mayo Clinic educating them as well as newly diagnosed people. He was willing and happy to help. When Jay and Chris owned the convenience store he looked forward to serving free coffee and frosted sugar cookies on Christmas Eve to customers. He enjoyed talking to everyone, especially that day. There are many more things he did and some he did where he wanted anonymity.

Fishing was a passion of Jay’s from an early age of 6 years old. It started when his mother, Jeanne, would take her coffee and Jay out in the canoe early in the morning before anyone else was awake; she would paddle and he would fish. He loved being on the water in his boat with anyone who wanted to go fishing with him. His wife, children, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandchildren have that passion too. Two of his favorite fishing spots were on Gull Lake and in the Florida Everglades.

Jay loved the competitiveness of tournament fishing. He won a 3 day tournament of ocean fishing in the Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo. He competed against 800 anglers and won by landing a 50 pound Wahoo, known for being the fastest fish in the ocean. He loved fishing for sailfish, yellowfin tuna, and dolphin (mahi mahi) in the ocean. In the Florida Everglades he loved catching cichlids, oscars, crappie and largemouth bass. Up north in Minnesota on Gull Lake he loved the thrill of going after northern pike, walleye and largemouth bass. Competitively, Jay belonged to the Zumbro Valley Bassmasters for years. These tournaments took him all over the state of Minnesota and a few times he represented MN in the Regional Tournament.

No dog could compete in Jay’s heart other than English Bulldogs. Jay loved every single thing his bulldog would do: snoring so loud she shook the wall, to side by side rides in the woods or boat ramp to one that picked up a skateboard in her mouth and would run away. The first bulldog was Lord Buckley whom Jay bottle fed. The second bulldog was Lucy, or Tank, as some called her and she spent a lot of time with Jay in the garage when he was working on various projects. Samantha, the third bulldog, was very protective. Izzy was his favorite English Bulldog. After Jay broke many ribs Izzy was still a puppy and the two spent a lot of time outside while healed. Jay played and held Izzy a lot during this time. Through that time and onward Izzy would alert Jay when his blood sugar was high or low saving his life numerous times. He would get down on the floor and as he said, “wrassle” with Izzy which both adored. Izzy would go to Camp Corfits when the family would go up north and she was known to love a bloody mary which Jay thought was so funny.

Some parting wisdom that Jay would share with family and for you too:

● Enjoy each day. Don’t wish away today for another day that you have plans for.

● Do good. Help others.

● Be yourself. It’s okay to be unique.

● Love God with all your heart.

● If you can’t have fun, go home!

● No regrets, never look back. 

In lieu of flowers, if you wish to give a monetary donation the family requests they be sent to Eagle Brook Church of Rochester.