Charles "Wayne" D. Hodge

Charles "Wayne" Hodge was born January 5, 1974 and passed away at home surrounded by his loving family on August 30, 2026 following a sudden and unexpected diagnosis of advanced pancreatic cancer on June 5, 2026. Wayne is preceded in death by his beloved parents Charles DeWayne Hodge Sr. and Gloria Jean Hodge (née Lindsey). Wayne is survived by his loving wife, Kathryn (Katie) Balz; and his devoted children, Brandon Hodge, Kenzie Hodge, Gracie Hodge along with her partner Mardayvion Brown and their baby Azaria (Wayne’s granddaughter and his pride and joy), his stepdaughters, Kiera Myles and Bernadette Myles, and his younger brother Dennis (Anna) Hodge. He is also survived by countless close family members and friends.

Wayne married his first wife Mary Hodge (née Gilland) in 2004, immediately opening his heart to Mary’s son, Brandon, and adopting him as his own. In 2005 they welcomed their first daughter, Mackenzie, followed by their second daughter, Gracie, in 2006. Despite their differences and the dissolution of their marriage, Wayne and Mary always put their children first and did an amazing job raising and co-parenting their children.

In 2014 Wayne met his wife, Katie, and they were married in 2015. Wayne again opened his heart not only to Katie, but to her two young daughters, Kiera and Bernadette, again taking them in and loving them as his own.

Wayne had a long and fulfilling career at Janell Concrete and took pride in his work. He was a valuable member of the team at Janell Concrete Equipment. He rose from being a counter/customer service specialist to purchasing to branch manager. His career with Janell had numerous highlights and great memories, and he will be greatly missed there.

Wayne was a man that never knew a stranger and always made a conscious effort to improve the lives of those around him. He did this through years of volunteering at his children’s schools, whether it was coaching, working at festivals or participating in fundraisers, Wayne always showed up to support the people and the organizations that he loved. Through all of this he earned a special place in the hearts and lives of many of the kids he coached, and the friends of his children- many of them also considering him a father figure of their own. He was known to tell people he had 5 children and more than 30 bonus kids that he had also taken on. He made all of these kids feel loved, welcomed, and seen for who they really were with him. He had a beautiful way of always recognizing and acknowledging the best in others, and always managed to make people see the better parts of themselves, especially those with tendencies to be harder on themselves. People always loved being around him, with his positive and welcoming nature it was hard to not feel better near him. He truly made the world a better and brighter place for those lucky enough to have known him.

A memorial gathering will take place on Friday September 18, from 10:30am until 12:30pm held at Radel Funeral Home, 650 Neeb Rd. 45233. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 1pm at St. William Church, 4108 West 8th St. 45205