William Joseph Hodapp

William Joseph Hodapp age 97, of Saint Paul, MN passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 18, 2025. William was survived by his three children: Mary Borrmann (Harald), Dan (Peggy da Silva), and Ted; five grandchildren: Katie Riegelman, Erich Borrmann, Emma Borrmann, Tatiana Hodapp, and Alex da Silva; and three great grandchildren: Brooks, Brody, and Malik. On April 11th, a memorial service will be held beginning with a visitation at 9 a.m., followed by a Catholic Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m., at Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Eagan, and available through live-stream starting at 10:00 AM https://www.youtube.com/@SJNChannel/streams 

Interment at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery will be that afternoon. Memorials may be directed to Little Sisters of the Poor, a charity William supported for many years.

William (Bill), the 2nd son of Martin and Loretto Hodapp, was born on February 2nd, 1927, in Mankato, MN and spent his formative years there.

His father operated a drug store, the Hodapp-Wegge Pharmacy. Wegge made the candy and his dad, Martin, was the pharmacist, although with minimal academic training. This early exposure to pharmacy convinced Bill to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Bill’s early interests included love of the piano where he developed an appreciation for Classical, Ragtime, and New Orleans Jazz, and he passed this musical interest to his children. All three kids play the piano at some level, and have fond memories of him playing the baby grand in the living room.

In high school, Bill played sports and worked many hours in his dad’s pharmacy – mostly scooping ice cream, cleaning, and other work.

In 1945 after graduating high school he enlisted in the Navy, which he thought was the best way to serve his country in that terrible war. To everyone’s delight the war ended shortly after he enlisted. His commanding officer came in to announce this and asked if anyone could type. We are not sure if he volunteered or if everyone around him stepped back. He then served the remainder of a year typing discharge papers for veterans returning from overseas. During this time he was a member of the "Blue Jacket Choir", and was able to be a part of the WWII victory celebration in Chicago – something he was most proud about.

After his discharge he received the G.I. Bill and enrolled in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota. There were many stories of life at the “U” among the thousands of vets who were taking advantage of this opportunity, including that of “Madam Wu’s ptomaine parlor” – a seedy place to get meals near campus and at one point, bunking beneath the bleachers in the old Memorial Stadium. Bill persisted among the many pharmacy students and received his bachelor’s degree in 1950.

After graduation he worked in a drug store in Winnebago, MN where he met Barbara Jean Hansen, who was working as a schoolteacher. The U.S. military had other designs on his life, and because his service in the navy had been 16 days short of 1 year, he was drafted into the Army when the Korean “conflict” broke out. They sent him to basic training, but there had been a new law passed that individuals with scientific training should be used “appropriately”. While the Army rethought how best to make use of his skills, he went back to basic training for another few weeks (his third time). Ultimately, he was sent to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. While at Aberdeen, he worked on antidotes to chemical warfare. Dad often commented that this was not the best use of his time

Apparently Barbara felt he might be getting away so she planned a trip to visit him. This sealed the deal as they renewed their relationship, and following his discharge were married in Albert Lea, MN on August 8, 1953. Following brief drug store jobs in Austin and Montevideo MN, he joined Merck, Sharp, and Dohme as a “detail man” – a travelling salesman, selling Merck products to pharmacists across Minnesota. He put a lot of miles on several cars and told stories of carrying a shotgun in the trunk in case he saw a pheasant. He was apparently successful at least once, but we never heard who prepared the bird. As a salesman, he was successful, winning several awards including “Salesman of the year” on at least two successive years. Bill and Barb lived in several cities during this time including Albert Lea where Mary was born in 1954, Montevideo where Dan was born in 1956, and then he was awarded the Mayo Clinic beat and moved to La Crosse, WI, where Ted was born in 1959. As a result, Ted is the only Cheesehead in the brood (he still likes cheese quite a lot and might explain why he is a vegetarian).

In 1962 Bill was recruited by Merck’s research labs to Philadelphia. He became Director of Medical Communications, where one of his responsibilities was publishing the Merck Manual – one of the most important reference books in the medical literature even today. He had stories about the first computer they brought in – took up a huge room with special cooling and power requirements, and it had the latest: 13k of random-access memory.

The three of us kids remember road trips to Gettysburg, Atlantic City, and a visit to the 1964 New York World’s Fair (the scene of the spaceship in Men in Black!). Unfortunately, Bill lost his parents shortly after moving to Philadelphia, when they were tragically killed in a car accident just outside of Mankato, following a long road trip.

In 1966, he was offered the position of Assistant Dean and Director of Continuing Education at the College of Pharmacy at U of M. Mom was happy to be moving back to Minnesota where four of her five sisters lived. Dad worked for the dean for many years and developed several pioneering programs in pharmacy. One of these was the founding of the Pharmacy Century Mortar Club in 1968, an organization dedicated to improving pharmaceutical education at the University of Minnesota and still operating today! Dad later became the first recipient of the Century Mortar Club Founder’s Award, and the Pharmacy Alumni Society’s Distinguished Pharmacist Award.

Living in Roseville, MN, included many camping trips, a road trip to Yellowstone, and a three-week road trip to California by way of Oklahoma City, Dallas, Carlsbad Caverns, Phoenix, and numerous national parks and monuments.

In 1972, Bill earned his master’s degree in education at the U of M and traveled the state establishing continuing education programs. Soon after this he took on the role of Coordinator of Continuing Education for the U of M Health Sciences. In this role he fostered collaboration in research and training throughout the Health Sciences. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure – the only non-PharmD individual in the School of Pharmacy to hold this rank, and the same year his son, Ted, was similarly promoted in physics. In 1984 he became the Director of Health Sciences Minority Program. He retired on January 1, 1994.

Dad occasionally described himself as a ‘frustrated architect’ and proved so by leading the design on an earth sheltered passive solar home where he and Barb moved to in Mendota Heights, MN in 1981. They also purchased a small cabin in 1988 near Hayward, WI on Johnson Lake. This retreat was dear to both mom and dad for several years, after which they sold it to Mary and Harald in 1995. The “cabin” remains an important gathering spot for the family.

In retirement he and Barbara spent winters in Green Valley and Tucson AZ, where they enjoyed warmth, hiking, fresh grapefruit, and good friends. Retirement rested well with him, and their 65-year marriage was an enduring testament to their love. He spent the last few years of her life caring for her as she struggled with Alzheimer’s and eventually died in 2018. He and Barb will be interred side-by-side in Fort Snelling National Cemetery – so together even beyond this life!

The loss of the love of his life was difficult for dad, but he kept up many social contacts including a support group for spouses who suffered from Alzheimer’s.

In 2020, he suffered a small stroke that took away much of the vitality he cherished, but not his charm or his sense of humor (just ask any of the residents at Eagan Pointe or Seven Hills – the two wonderful places he resided through the end if his life).

Dad always held his faith central to his life and supported the work of the Catholic church in many ways. He had many life-long friends from these communities, and always kept these relationships close to his heart.

Family was also primary, and he was happiest around kids, grandkids, and great-grand kids. Each year, he managed to make a holiday favorite for the family – Bananas Foster for Christmas, a tradition we have continued for 50 years.

To the end, he was engaged in conversations with friends and relatives, always curious with his questions, and kept up with the latest news. He spoke regularly with his brother Jim until his passing (at age 100) exactly two months before dad.

We (his kids) and many others will remember him as a generous and caring individual. We love him and miss him dearly.