John Maurice Hodge, 80, passed away on Oct. 24, 2020 at his home in Juntura.

He was born to Elenor M. Hider and Nathaniel Hodge on February 14, 1940 in Claremore, Okla. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a recognized member of the Muscogee Creek Nation.

He spent his youth in Vacaville, Calif. and Farfield, Calif. working with his father who used teams of mules to haul bins of olives and fruit. He played on an all-star baseball team and was known as one of the best players; he stayed in touch with many of his teammates and valued those friendships.

He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1957 and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He attended Motor Transport School to study Mechanics and earned a Good Conduct Medal. He left the Marines in 1963.

John moved to Eastern Oregon in the early 1970’s to work for a number of people around the  Drewsey area building fence, cutting timber, and working on machinery. He built miles of fence throughout his lifetime and taught others the trade. He always had a unique approach and generally didn’t follow any standard way of doing things.

Later in life, John would go to the forest in the summers to cut timber and build fence, he loved time in the mountains. He always had animals and some kind of project; his donkey that he used to carry his fencing supplies, dogs, cats, horses, pigs, and chickens. His latest endeavor was raising turkeys that roamed free around the Juntura Valley.

John was a one-of-a-kind individual whose personality is hard to capture in words. He was a great storyteller and most of the time you never knew what to believe when the conversation was over. He spent a lot of time taking the younger generation on fishing trips and teaching them things their parents probably were not planning on them learning. He will be missed dearly by the many people who considered him family.

John is a descendant of Chief Benjamin Perryman (Steek-cha-ko-me-co) and descendant of the Niall of the Nine Hostages. He is survived by his two children, Leane Dalgleish, Prince George, British Columbia; and Lynette Elles, Lakeside, Calif.; six grandchildren and one great grandson; and four brothers and six sisters. He is proceeded in death by his mother Elenor M. Hider, father Nathaniel Hodge, two sisters and one brother.

A service was held for John on Nov. 3, 2020 in Juntura. Mass was at St. Charles Catholic Church with the burial at the Juntura Cemetery. Donations can be made in his honor to the Wounded Warrior Project.