Hodges, Helen Arlene Toale

Helen Arlene Toale Hodges, known as “Mrs. Helen,” passed away April 6, 2010. 

She was born Nov. 1, 1926, in Independence, Iowa. She graduated from Mount Mercy College, with a degree in education. Her love of teaching spanned almost 50 years, with the last 20 years as a kindergarten teacher at St. Mark's Catholic School in Plano, Texas.

She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Robert E. Hodges Jr.; her brother, James Judson Toale and wife Pat and family; and sister-in-law, Roseanne Toale and family. She is also survived by her two children, James D. Hodges and wife Betsy and Ann M. Hodges and husband Robert H. McPherson. She has three grandchildren, Matthew Hodges, Mark Hodges and Rachel McPherson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Peter James Toale and Grace Short Toale; her son, Mark Robert Hodges; her sister, Marian Shirley Ryan, and her husband, Paul Ryan; and her brother, John Lyman “Jack” Toale.

A Memorial Mass will be held April 16 at 10:30 in the morning at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Richardson, Texas, where Mrs. Hodges was a founding member and active participant in the Women's Guild since 1959.