CANTON — The Rev. Earl A. Hodgkins, B.A., 87, a resident of Park Street, Livermore Falls, died peacefully, Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Victorian Villa Living Center, with his loving family at his side.

He was born April 3, 1925, in Taunton, Mass., the son of the late Earl W. Hodgkins and Ruth E. (Morse) Hodgkins. Earl was a graduate of Brockton High School in Massachusetts, and earned his bachelor’s degree through Philadelphia College of Bible, now known as Cairn University.

He served in the U.S. Navy as a corpsman during World War II in the Pacific and Mediterranean. On Nov. 2, 1952, in Brockton, Mass., he married his wife of 60 years, Joan E. Bassett.

During his pastoral career, he served the Calvary Baptist Church in Westfield; North Argyle Community Church in Argyle, N.Y.; Marston’s Corner Baptist Church in Auburn; and the Peoples Church in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Rev. Hodgkins established the Child Evangelism Fellowship in Glens Falls, Northway County, N.Y. He retired from the pastorate in 1990 and, in 1991, moved to White Head Island in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick Canada.

In 1991, he founded the Community Chaplain Services of Canada in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, serving from 1991 to 2004. The Community Chaplain Services now serves across Canada.

Earl was an avid sports fan and was a diehard Bruins and Red Sox fan. He also enjoyed watching his son-in-law, Bob, coach and following his granddaughter, Jillian, and his grandson, B.J. play sports. He loved to fish. He not only taught his daughter and grandchildren to fish, but each year would give a certificate to a child on the island for free fishing lessons.

Earl was a loving and devoted man to his family and his community and will be deeply missed by his family and those who knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Joan Hodgkins of Livermore Falls; his daughter, Elaine Fitzgerald and her husband, Robert Fitzgerald Sr., of Jay; grandchildren, Jillian Chretien and her husband, Mark, of Auburn and Robert “BJ” Fitzgerald Jr. and his wife, Hillary, of York; great-grandchildren, Cole and Aquinnah Chretien and Noah, Maddigan, Benjamin and Ellie Fitzgerald; his sister, Eleanor Bonnette of Taunton, Mass.,; and his niece, LeeAnn Tavares, also of Taunton, Mass.

Messages of condolence may be sent to: www.finleyfuneralhome.com.