Baker City, Oregon
Thomas Peter “Tom” Hochbrueckner, 79, of Baker City died Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
His graveside memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Mount Hope Cemetery. The Rev. James R. Watt of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral will officiate.
Tom was born on Jan. 5, 1925, at Estacada. His father died when he was 5 and the family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y.
During the Depression years, he gained experience by working jobs out of the city during the summer. He worked in a crab canning factory in Maryland, on a small truck farm in upstate New York and as a waiter in a vacation boarding home in Pennsylvania.
He returned to Oregon and graduated from Estacada High School. After graduation, he entered the U.S. Navy where he served until the end of World War II.
He was recalled to service during the Korean conflict. After his discharge from the Navy, he entered the automotive parts distribution industry in the Los Angeles area.
In 1968, he took a position as parts distribution manager with Kaiser Jeep Corp. in Portland. He retired from the position in 1985 after several assignments across the nation and back.
Tom will always be remembered as “the only native Oregonian with a Brooklyn accent.”
He was preceded in death by his mother, father and three wives, Lorraine, Martha, and Yvonne.
Survivors include four children; 10 grandchildren; eight great- grandchildren; one great-great- grandchild; and his sister, Mary Lentfer, of Homer, Alaska.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Francis Food Bank through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, September 17, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor