Longtime Reading Teacher Wendell W. Hodgkins Dies

READING, MA — A longtime teacher and department head in Reading has died. Wendell W. Hodgkins was 90 years old.

Hodgkins taught English at Reading Memorial High School for 37 years, serving as department chair for 18 of those years. In Reading, he formed "long-lasting friendships with colleagues, and RMHS alumni remember him with fondness and respect," according to his obituary.

Hodgkins was predeceased by his college sweetheart, JoAnn, with whom he raised five children in Reading. He spent his retirement in Florida with his second wife, Helena, where they "enjoyed the company of new friends and participated enthusiastically at the community Bingo table," his obituary states.

Hodgkins was active as an organist and choirmaster in his church throughout his adult life, continuing his passion into his retirement.

The family will gather privately at Douglass, Edgerley and Bessom Funeral Home in Reading. Friends are invited to attend a graveside funeral service at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17 at the Forest Glen Cemetery in Reading.

Memorial gifts in Hodgkins's name may be made to the Old South United Methodist Church in Reading (6 Salem Street Reading, MA 01867or https://www.oldsouthumc.org/) or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (888-557-7177, or LLS.org, click on DONATE button, or mailed to LLS Donor Services, PO Box 98018, Washington DC 20090).

Read the full obituary for Wendell W. Hodgkins.