Saturday, July 11, 2009

Milton Hoefle, 1938-2009

Many of you know by now, but for those who don't, Milt Hoefle passed away July 2, at his home in Pontiac. Milt was a long-time customer and friend of PCM. I personally don't remember the first time I met him because I've known him my entire life. Before he made Pontiac his permanent home, Milt kept a boat at PCM for many, many years. In fact, he kept the same slip in the oldest dock we have until earlier this spring when we broke the news to him and the other renters near him that the old dock would have to be torn down. I can tell you, he wasn't too happy about it. He really loved that old slip - he had been a dock customer since at least the '60s, possibly in the same slip, as that dock was 50+ years old. He took some time to think about it, and finally he agreed to let us move him, but only if he and his buddy, Chuck Maguire, could stay next to each other. Sure, no problem, we said. So, we moved Milt and Chuck's boats side-by-side in the first and second slips right behind the store - a prime location, and not very far from his old dock. We put Chuck's boat in the second slip, Milt's in the first. A month or so later, Milt's wife, Chris, told me how much he loved his new slip. She said he was pretty proud of the fact that he was in that #1 spot.

Milt will be missed by all of us at PCM.

Here is a clip from his obituary from Clinkingbeard Funeral Homes:

Milt was employed by National Supermarkets in St. Louis for 30 years where he served as Vice President of Information Services. He loved to fish, hunt, work in his wood shop and “living at the lake”. He was a member of St. Williams Parish in Gainesville, MO where he provided the music for Sunday mass, fried fish for the fish fries, made crafts for the craft fair and anything else he could help with. He was a “lake father” to many of the young people in Pontiac and was said to be the “go to guy” when someone needed help, tools or spare parts. He was loved be many and will be missed by all.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jabet thank you so much for honoring Milt on your blog. He truly was the best man I've ever known and I will miss him every day of my life. Many people don't know that he raised my kids from the ages of 3 and 6 and they are now 25 and 28. He was my hero.
Chris

cpeterson said...

Milt was such a nice guy - always had a smile on his face whenever we saw him - Jabet, what a beautiful tribute to a life well lived...he will be missed. Gary and Cindy

Anonymous said...

Milt was our "Lake Dad". We will miss him everyday.

Kelly, Kristy, Klaire & Khloe Laurie

Anonymous said...

Milt has been good friend of our family for more than 4o years.
Close friend of my husband father Cort and mother Buzzy. They were neighbors and helped build each other home at the lake. Melt, has always been there for the Williams family. We loved him and will miss seeing him riding his four wheeler.
Butch and Pat