20202021ObituariesNancy Ann Hodapp

December 3, 1957 ~ December 18, 2020

Nancy Ann Hodapp (“Missy”), 63, of New Orleans, LA, Baton Rouge, LA, Lancaster, PA – and the open road – passed away peacefully on December 18, 2020 in Baton Rouge.

Born on December 3, 1957, in Lancaster, she was the daughter of the late Edward J. Hodapp and the late Nancy A. (Carlson) Hodapp Browning; and step-daughter of the late D.Dwight Browning.

Throughout her life, Missy embodied values of kindness and generosity. She was a loving daughter, homemaker, step-mother, aunt, traveler, entrepreneur, lobbyist, and caregiver.  Missy was a beautiful artist, avid reader, and animal lover. She was a free spirit.

She graduated from Lancaster Country Day School and the Katharine Gibbs School in New York City. She went on to work in Washington, DC. In 1981, she joined the Reagan White House, first as an assistant to Chief of Staff Howard Baker, and then as Cabinet Council Secretary. After leaving the White House, she co-founded Neese-Hackler-Hodapp, which assisted business development in the Caribbean, under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, a Reagan-era program. Missy next directed marketing and communications for Very Special Arts, founded by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts education opportunities for people with disabilities.

Missy left the DC-Metro area in the late 1980s for New Orleans, where she lived out her days. She was a fixture in the colorful French Quarter, while traveling the world.

Professionally, she was known for her bright spirit, sharp intellect, creativity and remarkable organizational skills.  In 1990, Missy started a consulting business, Hodapp and More, providing services to Freeport-McMoRan. She managed and directed charitable community events, including the celebration of Desert Storm veterans, which was staged at the Louisiana Superdome, and the annual pro-am charity golf tournament held in New Orleans.  She later developed an import-export business, started The Soup Company, and was a consulting lobbyist for the California Orange Growers Association., splitting her time between Florida, New Orleans, and California.

From 2010-2012, Missy moved back to the family home in Lancaster to care for her step-father in his final year.

Her friends today use these words to describe her – charming, heart of gold, perfect hostess, a lovely woman, intelligent, generous, creative, tasteful, unique, thoughtful. She was funny, enjoyed a good laugh, and made friends wherever she went.

She is survived by her brother, Thomas E. Hodapp, husband of Suzann Redding, Sausalito, CA; stepbrothers Daniel D. Browning, life partner of Judy Robinson, Mifflin, PA; Paul M. Browning, husband of Judi Rineer, Lancaster, PA; and David M. Browning, husband of Nancy Lax, Jamaica Plain, MA. She is also survived by five nieces and a nephew, as well as a large extended family.

The family will honor her memory with a private celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Missy’s memory to the Missy Hodapp Memorial Fund at St. Jude’s Hospital for Children, at http://giftfunds.stjude.org/Missy_Hodapp_Memorial_Fund, or to the Louisiana SPCA, New Orleans Campus, 1700 Mardi Gras Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70037.  donate@lspca.org, (504) 368 5191.  Alternatively, do someone a kindness.