By Daily Press staff
Jon Hodge, SMC’s planetarium director who helped open up the wonders of the universe to tens of thousands of people over the past 26 years, died Jan. 4. He was 57.
Hodge is remembered as a charming and — even when battling cancer — ever-cheerful man who had a highly developed ability to turn complex subjects into understandable lectures and lively presentations for people of all ages.
In a fitting tribute to Hodge, who was on medical leave since last fall with an eye on retirement, his colleagues in the earth science department arranged to have an asteroid named after him late last year. Asteroid 18117 is now called “Jonhodge.” The honor recognized him for his “enormous contribution to the dissemination of astronomical and scientific knowledge to the general public, college students and schoolchild-ren,” not only for his work at SMC, but also for his lectures at UCLA and Griffith Observatory.
His planetarium shows were conducted not only for the benefit of SMC students, but also for the general public and for schoolchildren of all ages. Over the years, he has talked about every subject imaginable in the universe, many with catchy titles such as “Apocalypse Now: The Asteroid Risk,” “How Big is Space?” and “This Alien Earth.”
His planetarium shows survived earthquakes and soared to new heights with the construction a few years ago of a new 50-seat facility, complete with the state-of-the-art Digistar projection system.
Hodge’s college degree is not even in astronomy. He started out as an astronomy major at USC, but switched to the history of medieval science.
After graduating, he started work at the Griffith Observatory in 1971, first as a guide and then as a lecturer. He took over as SMC’s planetarium director in 1979, but continued to lecture at Griffith until it closed three years ago for major renovations. He also has worked with UCLA, organizing popular public seminars on astronomy.
Hodge established himself in Southern California’s active astronomical scene, bringing in guest lecturers to SMC from such organizations as Griffith, Cal Tech, UCLA and the Jet Propulsion Lab. He also was a member of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the International Planetarium Society.
Hodge is survived by his wife Mary; two sons, Brendan and Timothy; a daughter, Rosamund; and two grandchildren.
A vigil Service will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11 at Lorenzen Mortuary, 19300 Sherman Way, Reseda. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 12 at St. Mel Church, 20870 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. Burial will be immediately after the funeral at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, 11160 Stanwood Ave., Mission Hills.
The family has asked that no flowers be sent to the funeral. Flowers are permitted only at the vigil. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Masses be said for the repose of the soul of Jon Hodge or donations made to Catholic Medical Mission Board, PO Box 4715, New York, NY 10164.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 7, 2006. Read the original PDF.