Howard Hohlen

Howard Walter Hohlen was born to Fred and Pearl Hohlen on Christmas Eve of 1933 in Hastings Nebraska.

Howard graduated from Hastings High School in 1952 and enlisted in the United States Air Force. He served stateside until 1961 when he received an Honorable Medical Discharge.

He returned to Hastings where he met and fell in love with Carol Jean Frecks. They were married June 18, 1960. Their daughter Barbara was born in 1963. In 1965 they moved from Hastings to Trumbull where they were the proud owners of "The Peony Gardens". In 1973 they adopted their son Mark. Howard lost Carol to cancer in 1999.

He met and fell in love with Melodee Montayre. They married in Honolulu Hawaii on March 11, 2000. They continued to work the land and the Peony Gardens until 2009 when they sold the farm and moved to Hastings.

Howard was a greatly respected electrician and spent most of his professional career working for the City of Hastings. He was a pilot in his early years, a fine steward of the land, a devoted husband and father, and a servant of Christ.

He gave selflessly to his church, to the land, to his family and to his faith. He will be remembered with great reverence by those who loved him. His bright blue eyes and child-like smile will be dearly missed.

Howard was preceded in death by his parents, brother Maurice, sister Virginia (Arnold) and wife Carol. He is survived by wife Melodee and her children Rose Geyer and Eric Castillo; his children Barbara and Mark; brother-in-law Gerald Arnold; nephews Howard Lammers, Dave Lammers, Gayle Lammers, Greg Frecks, Ron Arnold, Jerry Arnold, Dave Arnold, and Joe Arnold; nieces Beverly Lewien, Willa Bradshaw and Teresa Frecks; and six grandchildren.

Services will be Friday, July 24, 2015; 11:00 A.M. at First Saint Paul's Lutheran Church, Hastings with Pastor Joel Remmers, Chaplain Captain Zach Brueningsen, and Pastor Ron Arnold officiating. Private family burial with military rites by Hastings Veterans Organizations will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Trumbull. Book signing will be Thursday, July 23, 2015; 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service at the church. In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to the family for a memorial to be established at a later date.