With grace and humor, Gertrude Hodges, ’59, the first African American to graduate from the Johns Hopkins Hospital Training School for Nurses (now the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing), made a point—and a habit—of sharing her history and stories with young black or underprivileged nurses who hoped to follow in her footsteps.
Hodges, born August 3, 1936, died March 28, 2025 at her home in East Baltimore, leaving a legacy of pluck and perseverance.
After going on to earn a master’s degree at Columbia Teacher’s College, Hodges spent most of her career as nursing faculty of the Community College of Baltimore (now Baltimore City Community College). Through decades of providing health care, teaching, and mentoring, she inspired generations of Baltimore nurses and Johns Hopkins nursing alumni. For her relentless pursuit of excellence in health care education, Hodges was honored with a JHU Distinguished Alumna Award as well as a Black Student Nurses Association scholarship named in her honor.
And all because Hodges had the grit and determination to defy a high school guidance counselor who advised her to forget nursing, questioning whether the profession was even open to Black students. Born into a poultry farm family in Hamptonburgh NY, Hodges recognized a turkey. “I didn’t care what anybody said,” Hodges recalled. “I knew I wanted to be a nurse since I was 4 years old.” She sent a letter inquiring if the Johns Hopkins Hospital Training School for Nurses accepted “colored” students. And the school, then as now, recognized a Hopkins Nurse.
“She knew she was destined to become a nurse—she was named after two aunts who were nurses,” her daughter, Lisa R. Hodges-Hiken, told the Baltimore Sun. “Her strength, perseverance, and ability to hold herself to a high standard carried her through the experience of being singular at Hopkins.”
The Baltimore Banner also published an obituary.
Survivors include Hodges-Hiken of Baltimore, son Victor Hodges of Columbus, Ohio; stepson James Hodges of Baltimore; and four grandchildren. Her husband, James E. Hodges Jr., died in 1998. ◼