John Hoag
John Tigchon “Jack” Hoag, 98, passed away Aug. 31, 2013, at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls.
Jack was born Nov. 6, 1914, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He graduated from Yale University in 1937 and the University of Michigan School of Law in 1940. He passed the bar exams in Michigan and began practicing law.
His mother’s college roommate and best friend was Genevieve Walsh, daughter of Montana’s U.S. Sen. Thomas Walsh. After college, Genevieve invited Irene and Jack to spend summers with her family at the head of Lake McDonald. The senator took Jack as a youngster on many hikes and horseback trips, instilling in him a lifelong love of fly fishing.
After his first trip to Sperry Chalet in 1927, there were no questions about where Jack wanted to be during the summer. Riding in a horse-drawn wagon from Belton to Apgar, then taking a boat up the lake, surrounded by family and dearest friends, Jack had indeed found his heaven on earth. In 1939 he purchased the Geduhn homestead adjacent to the Walsh family compound, subsequently spending every summer there except for those during World War II.
With the war raging, Jack enlisted in the Army, intentionally neglecting to inform the government of his educational qualifications. After undergoing tank corps training in the Mojave Desert, his unit was about to be shipped out to Italy. Suddenly a mysterious order arrived from Washington honorably discharging Jack from the Army.
The next day other orders arrived commissioning him as a lieutenant in the Adjutant General’s Division. From there he went first to the Philippines, then was headed to Japan when the A-bombs were dropped, ending the war. As U.S. forces moved into occupied Japan, Jack was stationed at Kure as head of the Military Police. In 1946, he was honorably discharged after four years of service.
Several years after returning stateside, Jack married the girl next door, Regine Aronow, daughter of Boris and Anna Aronow, of Shelby, and his longtime neighbors at Lake McDonald. While growing up, “Little Regine” tagged along on hikes, fishing trips and huckleberry-picking expeditions. Evidently Regine caught Jack’s eye and heart. This past July, they celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary by sharing a home-picked huckleberry pie.
Regine and Jack spent their winters in Grosse Pointe, Mich., where he managed real estate and she practiced medicine and taught at the Medical School of Wayne State University.
Summers were spent with family at Lake McDonald. Jack was a hands-on guy, rallying the kids to haul wood, clear the beach, set up sprinkler systems, plant raspberry and strawberry patches, bang wrenches on old pumps, or whatever. For fun, he loved taking his kids, nephews and guests hiking, fishing and later climbing.
Jack was preceded in death by his youngest child, Julie Bickett, and cousin Virginia Adams.
He is survived by his wife, Regine Hoag, of Kalispell; children John Hoag, of Whitefish, Davy Hoag, of Kalispell, and Anne Wheeler, of Helena; grandchildren Susan and Megan Wheeler and Katie and Peter Hoag; and cousin Susan Mainwaring, of Naples, Fla.
A celebration of Jack’s life will be held next summer.
Donations may be made in his name to Flathead Shelter Friends, P.O. Box 1035, Kalispell MT 59901 or to the Glacier Natioinal Park Conservancy trails fund, P.O. Box 2749, Columbia Falls MT 59912.