Earl Austin Hotchkiss

Earl Austin Hotchkiss, born September 5, 1916 in Raymond, Nebraska, Lancaster County to Carlos and Flora Hotchkiss, died December 10, 2014 after a brief episode of heart failure. He was 98 years young when he arrived in heaven to see his Lord and Savior, Jesus. He is survived by his wife Connie, his sons & their wives Gary & Sharon, Keith, Mark & Angie, Connie’s children, Carol & Dennis Warnke, Jim & Dorothy Vance, Rolin & Lauree Vance, 14 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. His brother and sister, Dale and LaVerne, and granddaughter, Rebekah Sauter, preceded him in death. As a young man, Earl went to Wesleyan University in Nebraska where he started dating Dorothy DeBord. During that time, Earl and his parents moved to Aloha, Oregon. He continued to write Dorothy for three years until he drove to Nebraska one weekend, and asked for Dorothy’s hand in marriage. They married the next day, on July 4, 1938. Earl then drove back to Portland. Dorothy, and Earl’s sister, LaVerne, took the train out to Portland, two weeks later. Their first son, Gary was born in 1941. During the war years, Earl was quite industrious. He took up sewing and figured out a way to make worn mattresses last longer by moving outside springs to the middle. He could refurbish two or three in an evening. He charged $10 each. And it was almost all profit. The only materials he used would be a little bit of cotton batting. In 1945, Earl joined the US Navy. While he was in boot camp in San Diego, the war ended. After boot camp, he was promoted to Seaman First Class. He served in Hawaii and the Philippines for a few months until he was discharged later that year. After the war, he began to work for a furniture and mattress business in Aloha. During that time he had a house built for his family. He also had own business refurbishing mattresses. He invented a machine that sped up the assembly of the mattresses. Keith was born in 1952, then Mark in 1958, when he was 41 years old. He had a thriving rental house business, in which he bought inexpensive houses, remodeled them, and would then rent them out. He eventually sells them when the time was right. He retired from Nicolai Door Company at age 60. His sweetheart, Dorothy, died February 1982 of a ruptured aorta. They were married 44 years. Needing companionship, he then married longtime family friend and widow Connie Vance in October of 1982. They lived in NE Portland, where Earl loved to work in their beautiful garden, doting on the roses, and hydrangeas, which he would give away cuttings to his visitors. He continued his remodeling, by putting in a beautiful second kitchen and dining area in their basement, along with a game room and workshop. He enjoyed fixing household things and upholstering furniture. He taught Sunday school at Mocks Crest Evangelical Church, served as a Sunday school superintendent and Chairman of the Board of Deacons at University Park Baptist Church. He and Connie traveled to many countries: Scotland, England, Wales, Spain, and Israel, and went on a couple of cruises. Connie and Earl were married 32 years. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts and donations be given to the Africa New Life Ministries @ www.africanewlife.org, at the top select Donate. A celebration of Earl’s life will be held Monday, December 22, 2014 from 1-3 pm in the penthouse at Holladay Park Plaza, 1300 NE 16th, Portland, OR 97232