James V. Hodnett

Hodnett, James Victor, Jr., 88, of St. Petersburg, FL, and Banner Elk, NC, died Sunday, September 28, 2014, at Westminster Suncoast. Born August. 23, 1926 in Winter Haven, FL, to the late Victor and Donna Hodnett, James was the loving husband of Carol Gregory Hodnett for 65 years and father to Kay Hodnett, St. Petersburg, and son, Chris, of Mountain City, TN. Raised in Winter Haven, he attended Riverside Military Academy in Georgia and Stetson University in Deland. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII in Germany and France. He returned to Florida after the war to operate his family's orange groves and cattle ranch. He and Carol moved to Dade City in 1952. A pioneer in the Florida citrus industry, James joined the board of the West Coast Growers, organized through the Lykes Pasco Packing Co. He and Carol owned groves throughout the state, including Hodnett Groves in Duette. He opened a real estate business and later developed the Sea Pines community on the Gulf of Mexico in Hudson. The Hodnett's began spending part of the year at their home in Banner Elk, NC, in 1983. James is survived by his wife, children, a sister, Katherine Nunez of Jacksonville, FL, three grandchildren (Michelle and Keith Hodnett and Gregory Studer) three great-grandchildren, and many friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in his memory to the Alzheimer's Association or a Charity of Your Choice. Online donations can be made at www.memorial-donations.org.