Jack Eric Hokanson

Dr. Jack E. Hokanson of Lloyd, FL, age 94, died March 12, 2026 in Tallahassee, with his family by his side. His loving wife, Santa—whom he and her family called Cynthia—held his hand until his last breath. Theirs was a tender and true love story lasting over seventy-two years. He was deeply loved.

Jack was born October 5, 1931, in New York City to Algot and Ingeborg Hokanson, both natives of Blekinge, Sweden. Jack enjoyed playing stickball and sandlot football with childhood friends. On Saturdays, he took the train from the Bronx to Brooklyn for accordion lessons with the famed Eddie Jarl, practicing pieces to be played at the Swedish club and even performing at the 1939 World’s Fair.

He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, delivering groceries by bicycle after school. While attending City College, he worked as an orderly at Bellevue Hospital and helped his father build their house in Cresskill, NJ. Shortly after the house was completed, his father passed away.

Jack met the love of his life, Cynthia, through his DKE fraternity brother, Tony, who was dating Cynthia’s sister, Marie. He arrived at the family home at Broadway and 152nd Street dressed sharply in tennis whites. Under the watchful eye of Cynthia’s father, Jack listened to her play Rachmaninoff on the piano and famously offered "constructive criticism" regarding her “muddy left hand.”

Jack was drafted into the Army, and following basic training, he and Cynthia married in 1954. They began their long life together with a honeymoon drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Augusta, GA. Cynthia taught high school math until the first of their six children was born a year later.

Jack was accepted into the PhD program at the University of Wisconsin. Three more children were born during those hectic Madison years. The family moved to Tallahassee in 1959 when Jack was offered a faculty position with the FSU Psychology Department. Their final two children were born there.

In Tallahassee, Jack entertained his children and neighborhood kids on the front stoop, playing guitar and singing original songs about them. He fulfilled a promise of a piano to his wife, finding one at the old Floridan Hotel. Jack later took up the cello, playing duets with Cynthia and forming a trio with their friend Ethel on violin.

Jack was a family man of keen intellect who loved sharing his eclectic interests. He played tennis and shot hoops with his children and grandchildren, who found him witty, loving, and engaging. They credit their shared love of the arts to the numerous operas, ballets, and symphonies they attended through the university. Yearly gatherings and singalongs under "Grandpa’s" conducting were cherished by all.

Weekends were for exploration: fishing at Alligator Point, sailing on Leif the Lucky, or camping in the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. In 1964, Jack and Cynthia purchased a small house with 90 acres and several barns in Lloyd. Over the years, he added two additions and a bounty of landscaping. The farm became a Sunday gathering place for grad students, faculty, and their families to enjoy picnics, sports and camaraderie.

In 1973, the family spent seven months in London while Jack taught for the FSU London Program. All eight traveled through Europe in a VW van, even visiting Sweden to reunite with Jack’s extended family. It was a formative time that widened their global perspectives.

Jack retired as Professor Emeritus after over 40 years with the FSU Psychology Department. He authored three books and numerous papers, and received multiple teaching awards. He was a man of profound kindness whose impact on his students, colleagues and friends was immense.

In retirement, Jack traveled extensively and entered a prolific painting phase; his artwork remains displayed throughout the family home. He was once famously outwitted by his two-year-old granddaughter, who insisted "dessert before supper" was legitimate policy by pointing to a random line in a book.

The farm continues to be the family gathering place, where the trees Jack planted welcome grandchildren traveling from afar.

Jack is survived by his loving wife, Santa (“Cynthia”); daughters Carol, Jean, and Martha (Robert); and son John (MaLynda). He was predeceased by his sons Robert and David. His grandchildren—Kristen (Bryan), Nicholas (Jill), Monica (Tom), Jessica, Hannah, and Robbie—and his great-grandchildren—Charlotte, Jack, and Samuel—were the light of his life.

No services will be held. The family would be grateful if you would share remembrances and photographs on the website. In lieu of flowers, please consider planting a tree or flowers in Jack’s memory.