Funeral services for Walter Hohle, age 88 of Mobridge will be at 10:30 AM Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at Family Worship Center in Mobridge. Burial will be in the St. Peter's Congregational Cemetery under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home. Visitation will be Monday, April 6, 2015 from 3PM to 7PM with a prayer service at 7PM at Kesling Funeral Home Chapel. Walter passed away, Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at the Golden Living Center in Mobridge.

The seventh of ten children, Walter was born to Otto and Martha (Paulick) Hohle on August 19, 1926 on the family homestead near the small town of Grygla in Northwest Minnesota. Growing up on a small farm during the Depression, life was not easy – they worked hard but also played hard.

In order to be able to attend High School, Walter made a deal with his Father – he would help milk cows before and after the 42 mile bus ride. While a sophomore attending High School, he enlisted in the Navy. After graduating from High School as Salutatorian he entered the US Navy and was trained at the Great Lakes Naval Station as a radioman. He was at sea aboard the USS Dorchester about 2000 miles from Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped and Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Walter worked as a message router with special security clearance, including making amphibious landings in the Pacific to set up radio communications. He spent about 18 months at sea between Hawaii and the Japanese surrender.

After his discharge from the Navy, Walter worked on a grain harvest crew – arriving in Mound City on July 17, 1946 with his brother John. Walter ended up staying in South Dakota where he met the love of his life, Muriel Bohlander. They were married on August 22, 1954 at the Congregational Church north of Glenham. From this union 3 children were born - Jeff, Mark, and Tamara. In addition to farming, Walter worked many other jobs – ranging from carpenter to fishing guide on Lake Oahe. He also worked at Mardian's processing furs – often working all night and then farming during the day. In April of 1984 he took a job as a conservation technician with the South Dakota Game, Fish and & Parks where he had many different roles - driving the patrol boat, conducting fish surveys, repairing equipment, and working the walleye spawns. He took great pride in this job. They eventually rented out the farm land. Walter worked until the spring of 2006, when he retired at the young age of 80. Walter and Muriel moved from the family farm north of Glenham to the Mobridge area on Dec. 4, 2004.

In addition to spending time with his family, Walter had a love of the outdoors and a special fondness for fishing for Walleyes. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge about birds and trees and had an amazing ability to recall numbers. He could recite the serial numbers for vehicles that the family had owned from many years ago. Walter had a quiet but deep faith in God – and as his health waned, he knew he was leaving behind his aging body for a new one with Christ.

Walter is survived by his wife Muriel and sons Jeff (Johanna) Hohle and Mark (Malinda) Hohle, daughter Tamara (Dave) Waite, six grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, brother John Hohle and sister Gloria (Hohle) Coehn

He was preceded in death by his parents Otto and Martha Hohle, siblings Obert Hohle, Ann (Hohle) Bredeson, Ingvald (Jack) Hohle, Bertha Hohle, Doris (Hohle) Buus, Raymond Hohle, and Richard Hohle.
Notice for
Walter Hohle

Request for donations in lieu of flowers to Family Worship Center.