June 18, 1928-Aug. 12, 2003

HERMISTON – June Margaret Hockens, 75, of Portland, a former Hermiston resident, died Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2003, at Menlo Park Care Facility in Portland.

A celebration of life memorial gathering for family and friends will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday at McKenzie Park in Hermiston. Friends are invited to share their memories of special times enjoyed with Mrs. Hockens. A luncheon in the park will follow. Disposition was by cremation.

The second of five girls, Mrs. Hockens was born June 18, 1928, in McFadden, Wyo., to Lloyd La Vere and Lucy Irene Jons Benning.

On April 10, 1953, she married Leonard Marvin Hottendorf in Blair, Neb. The couple were parents of two daughters, La Vera and Lorraine. In 1970, they divorced.

On Jan. 9, 1971, she married Gene Hockens at McIntire, Iowa.

For many years, Mrs. Hockens worked as a bartender and waitress in Iowa. After moving to Hermiston in 1979 she went to work at the JR Simplot Company where she was employed for 10 years. After retiring, she worked part-time as a foster grandmother at Rocky Heights Elementary School, working with kindergarteners.

Failing health prompted her move to the Menlo Park Care Facility at Portland in 1997.

Survivors include her daughters, La Vera Sanchez of Hermiston and Lorraine Rodriguez in Arizona; grandchildren, Mark Sanchez, Chris Macias, and Jessica Hottendorf; sisters, Mildred Struve in Wisconsin, Betty Aschbrenner in Iowa, and Frances Schultz in Minnesota; numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, by both husbands, Leonard Hottendorf, and Larry Hockens, a sister, Vera Rose Benning, and a great-granddaughter.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Association.