Harold Heman Hotchkin

Harold H. Hotchkin, 77, died Sunday, February 5, 2012 at his Red Bluff home with family at his side. He was born January 3, 1935 in Portland, Oregon to Harold and Lyda Riley Hotchkin. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1952 at age 17 and served four years.

He met his future wife, Judy, the year he was discharged, and they were married October 13, 1957. He attended technical school and was hired as a radar technician by the Federal Aviation Administration. They moved to Red Bluff in 1962 where he worked for 32 years. He retired as a supervisory technician in 1990.

Through the years, Mr. Hotchkin spent summer vacations and weekends with his family camping and boating at Shasta Lake. After retirement, he and his wife traveled to Vancouver and Victoria, Canada and cross country several times to Washington, D.C., Louisiana and Florida, and cruised to Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2007 with their daughters and families on a cruise and most recently sailed from Long Beach through the Panama Canal to Tampa, FL for another anniversary celebration.

A self-taught guitar player, he enjoyed playing his guitar with groups of friends and family members in one garage or another. He liked an afternoon game of chess with his grandson, and penny-ante poker, almost meeting his match against his grandsons who learned the game from him as did his daughters and granddaughter. He became an avid fan of Outlaw Kart racing, learned to like soccer and always enjoyed softball and Little League baseball, sports in which his daughters and grandchildren compete.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Hotchkin is survived by daughters and sons-in-law Diane and Aaron Graham of Red Bluff and Stacey and David Robinson of St. Pete Beach, FL; grandchildren Shane and Riley Graham and Davis and Claire Robinson; sister Beverly Easter of Clatskanie, OR; and sisters-in-law Terry Hotchkin and Nikki Hotchkin, both of Portland, OR. He was preceded in death by daughter Vicki; brothers Robert and William; and a nephew Brian Easter.

A graveside service will be held 1:00 p.m. Friday, February 10, 2012 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Red Bluff.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Elizabeth Hospice, the American Cancer Society, or a charity of choice.

Arrangements are by Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers, Red Bluff.