Dale Lester Hotchkiss

Dale Lester Hotchkiss was born April 29, 1928, in Seminole, Oklahoma, to Claude and Gertrude Hotchkiss. He left this world on Sunday, January 7, 2018, from Grand Coulee, Washington, surrounded by the family he loved and cared for his entire adult life.

His family moved from Oklahoma to Grand Coulee his senior year of high school and he graduated as salutatorian from the class of 1947

Dale joined the army in August 1950 and served until 1952. He was a corporal in the 11th Triple A Battalion and served with honor in Austria.

He returned home, where he met and married Gloria Beck in Ephrata, Washington, and together they started what they believed was the most important part of their lives: raising a family. Dale enjoyed many activities with his family and friends; among them were hunting, golfing, boating and camping. One of his greatest joys was raising and showing Arabian horses for over 30 years along with his wife, Gloria, and daughter, Cindy, where he made lifelong friends and shared many great moments together.

He began working out of high school as an ironworker, and in 2017 he received his 70-year pin from the International Association of lronworkers. He began his career building the Grand Coulee Dam and worked on several dams and missile bases in the area, and returned to Grand Coulee, where he retired from the USBR.

Dale and Gloria purchased the Trail West Motel in 1965, and took great pride in running it and making many improvements over the years.

Dale's greatest joy was always his family, which included not only his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but also his brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, and their families.

After the passing of Gloria in 2014, the love he and Gloria had always shown to their family was returned to him many times over.

Dale was predeceased by his parents, two brothers, two sisters and a great-grandson. Dale is survived by his children: Candice Stoner (Ed), John Hotchkiss (Debbie), Shelley Benson (Jim), and Cindy Fleming (Dan); grandchildren, Todd Stoner (Dawn), Heidi Gropp (Scott), Holli Anderson (Doug), Jeremy Leavitt (Shauna), Tony Leavitt (Heidi), Tyler Hotchkiss (Jamie), Crystal Benson, Mindy Dixon (Derrick), Kari Weston (Joe), Kim Riggs, Kami Stehman (Sean), Heather Jensen (Aaron) and Josh Fleming (Jennifer); 28 great-grandchildren; sister, Judy Bick; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. at the Grand Coulee Church of the Nazarene in Grand Coulee on Saturday, January 13, 2018. Graveside services followed at Spring Canyon Cemetery in Grand Coulee.

Dale's family requests that any gifts be given in his memory to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Please sign Dale's online guest book at http://www.stratefuneralhome.com. Strate Funeral Home of Grand Coulee is honored to be serving his family.