Ray C. Hoeck

Ray C. Hoeck, 91 of Moorhead, Minnesota died Monday, May 17, 2010, on his 66th Wedding Anniversary, in MeritCare Hospital Palliative Care Unit, Fargo under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley. Ray, son of Carl and Clara (Schacht) Hoeck, was born November 14, 1918 on his family farm near Holstein, Iowa where he attended school and began his path to manhood. During the Great Depression he moved with his family to Tilley, Alberta, Canada where they made their living farming. In 1940 Ray moved to Clay County before entering the U.S. Army in 1941. He served in the European Theater of War during World War II. Ray married Esther Bower on May 17, 1944 on the Hoeck Farm near Comstock, Minnesota. Ray returned to Europe and the war effort until his honorable discharge in 1946. After the war Ray and Esther made their home in Rainier, Oregon where he worked in the logging industry cutting timber. In 1949 they moved to a farm near Sabin, Minnesota where they raised their sons. Ray farmed with his brother Carly, and he continued to be active on the farm until he and Esther moved into Moorhead in 2006. He lived there until the time of his death. Ray was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Sabin. He was a member of the American Legion Post 21 and the V.F.W. Post 1223 both of Moorhead. Ray was an avid reader. He enjoyed mowing and tending to his lawn and spent many hours in his pick-up surveying the area crops. He and Esther liked to travel and enjoyed such destinations as Australia, Hawaii and Alaska. He is survived by his wife Esther of Moorhead; two sons, Ron (Cheryl) Hoeck of rural Sabin and Wayne (Sue) Hoeck of Fargo; five grandchildren, Russell Hoeck of Fargo, Erin Hoeck of West Fargo, John Hoeck in the U.S. Navy on Okinawa, Wes Hoeck of Fargo and Ashley Hoeck of Fargo; one great-grandchild, Mason Hoeck at home in West Fargo; one sister Harriet (Harvey) Jewett of Yreka, California. He is preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Marie Edwards and Helen Feddersen and his brother Carl J. Carly Hoeck. Funeral service: Saturday at 11:00 in Trinity Lutheran Church, Sabin Visitation: Friday from 5:00 " 8:00 with a Prayer Service at 7:00 in Dobmeier Funeral Home, Barnesville, Minnesota and two hours before the service on Saturday at the church. Interment: Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, rural Sabin.