James Chester Strickland, 85, Hodges, Ala., died Sunday, Jan. 11, 2004, at Russellville Hospital. Visitation will be 6-9 p.m. today at Hamilton Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004, at Mount Olive Baptist Church, with burial in Ole Mount Carmel Cemetery.Officiating at the funeral will be James Nichols.He is survived by his wife, Ophelia Strickland; two daughters, Nancy and Dr. James V. Hawkins Jr., Bethesda, Md., Deborah and Thomas W. Davis, Troy, Ala.; grandson, Zachary James Hawkins, Bethesda, Md.; two brothers, William Lester Strickland, Madison, Ala., and Newell Strickland, Cedar Creek, Ala.He was preceded in death by his parents, Samuel Aulsie Strickland and Mary Emerson Strickland; and a sister, Annie Lewey.He was born in Franklin County on Nov. 6, 1918, and had worked for the State Highway Department.