Fred Hodges

Frederick Douglas Hodges (19 April 1918 - 21 July 1999) was a Canadian labour leader, civil rights activist, politician and humanitarian. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Hodges was the first visible minority elected in the Saint John City Council.

Early life Hodges was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada to Lloyd Hodges and Drusilla Oliver - descendants of Black Loyalists who arrived in New Brunswick in the 1780s following the American Revolution. In the 1940s, Hodges worked as a freight handler with the Canadian Pacific Railway. During the Second World War, he served for two years in the Royal Canadian Airforce as a radio-telephone operator in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Career Hodges maintained an active and long-running career in politics.

In 1946, Hodges returned to work as a freight handler for the CPR, who had a collective agreement with the Winterport Lodge 797 of the Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees.

In 1984, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick.

Personal life Hodges married Olive Mildred Stewart in 1940 and had six children together.

Hodges died on July 21, 1999, en route to the hospital after suffering a heart attack while vacationing in Digby, Nova Scotia.