Merry Phyllis Hodge of Jackson, Missouri was born on December 25, 1947, to the late Charles and Mary (Hatton) Ash in Caruthersville, Missouri, and passed away on May 1, 2025 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at the age of 77.

On March 21, 1986, Phyllis Ash and Gary Hodge were united in marriage in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and he survives of the home.

Phyllis lived in Southeast Missouri for the majority of her life and had attended Christ Gospel Church for 55 years before her passing. She loved to crochet and sew, being involved in the church, reading the bible, spending time with her family and grandchildren, and she even earned a masters degree from a bible college while struggling with lupus. She was the last child of 13 children to be born.

Surviving family include her loving husband of nearly 40 years, Gary Hodge of Jackosn, Missouri, her children, Larry “Dewayne” Dunning, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Glenn Hodge, of Puxico, Missouri, Jamie Hodge, of Dexter, Missouri, Barb Scott, of Jackson, Missouri, Tammie Angel, of Oak Ridge, Missouri, and Sherry Trout, of Puxico, Missouri, 11 grandchildren: Megan, Brandon, Cory, Jesse, Taylor, Brad, Logan, Nathan, Ethan, Nicole, and Sherrie, 9 great grandchildren, and her siblings, Flora Cooley, of Pace, Florida, and Lynnie Cannon, of Cottage Hill, Illinois.

Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, and her siblings, James Ash, Stephen “Jack” Ash, and Evelyn Null.

The visitation will be on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, beginning at 11 A.M. at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico, Missouri.

The funeral will be on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, beginning at 1 P.M. at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico, Missouri.

Internment will follow at the Brown Cemetery near Puxico, Missouri.

Watkins and Sons is handling all arrangements.