James Robert Hodina passed away on May 31, 2023 in Winfield, Il at the age of 64.  He had just celebrated his 41st wedding anniversary with his wife Melanie, and he is also survived by his son Luke Hodina, his daughter Erin DeClute, his son-in-law Jake DeClute, his five grandkids, Bronwyn, Flannery, Carragher, Roger, and Sinéad, his mother, Margaret (Hodina) Beisswenger, his seven siblings, Dick Hodina, Chuck Hodina, Jack Hodina, Don Hodina, Peggy Barney, Sue Pietrzak, Jerry Hodina, and many nieces and nephews.

Jim was born in Oak Brook, IL to George and Margaret Hodina, the seventh of eight children.  From the time he was just a toddler, he loved working with his dad, who owned a heating and cooling business .  This launched Jim's lifelong career in construction, specifically general contracting, which he continued to practice in the Chicagoland area until his passing.  The many relationships formed and maintained over the years with other contractors, tradesmen, and his employees were a really rich part of his life. He loved investing in people, and his work was just one more avenue for doing that.

Jim met his wife Melanie (née Phenegar) at Lyons Township High School during their junior year.  As sixteen year olds, they went on their first date on New Year's Eve.  They continued dating after that night, and in the years that followed, they came to faith in Christ together, went on to attend the same college, and married on May 15,1982. A date that he recalled to his nurses in the hospital as "the best day of my life".
A few years later, their first child was born, their son Luke, followed two years later by their daughter Erin.  It was very obvious that Jim loved being a dad.  He always engaged in his kids' lives, managed to be extremely silly even when exhausted from work, and found crazy ways to give Luke and Erin great childhood memories.  I-spy games from on top of the roof, rollerblading in huge empty warehouses that he was renovating, rides in the back of his pick up truck, and nightly wrestling and rough housing were just a part of the fun.  He also always looked for ways to connect with his kids and show them he loved them, which was something he continued doing into their adulthood.  His silliness found a new outlet when he became a grandpa, and his five grandkids absolutely loved being around him.  He constantly made them laugh and was never phased by the household chaos, to which, in fact, he likely contributed.

Besides work and family life, Jim invested a lot of time in biking, whether planning long road trips with a group of friends or recruiting people to come out to the woods and mountain bike with him.  He was really happy when he could get out on his bike, and, as in other areas of his life, it was also a way he enjoyed connecting with people.

Since coming to know Christ in his young adulthood, Jim loved studying the Bible.  For years, he filled up notebooks, diligently diagramming the Greek New Testament.  He treasured the Scriptures and believed he would never be done discovering more meaning in the text.  He was encouraged in this by the community of brothers and sisters at his church, College Church in Wheaton.  An active member of the church, he had rich fellowship there, and they loved him well.

Jim lived his life humbly, believing that nothing made him worthy before God except the saving work of Jesus.  He loved others thoroughly, admitted his faults readily, and desired to please God wholeheartedly.  The sincerity with which he did those things blessed others mainly by demonstrating the mercy and goodness of the God who saved him.  We will miss him terribly but thank God that in life and in death nothing can pluck him from God's mighty hand.