Homer Hatch, 92

F. Homer Hatch, 92, of Mountain Home, died Monday, April 7, 2003, at the Elmore Medical Center Nursing Home.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, at Summers Funeral Homes, McMurtrey Chapel in Mountain Home. Burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery.

Homer was born June 13, 1910, in Big Bend area near Roswell, ID, the son of Harvey and Myrtle (Stark) Hatch.

Homer married Edith Hopkins on Jan. 16, 1930. They had two children.

During the 1930s Homer was a barber in Parma. In 1941 he went to work at Gowen Field in Boise as a crash rescue firefighter. In 1943 he transferred to Mountain Home Air Force Base as Assistant Fire Chief. His first responsibility was to organize the fire department at the newly built base. He became Fire Chief in 1945.

Homer left in 1948 to become a field man for the Ferry Morse Seed Co. in Caldwell. He returned to Mountain Home Air Force Base as Fire Chief in 1951, where he served until his retirement in 1971.

Homer was active in the Masonic Orders especially the Elmore Shrine Club, Tin Lizzie Patrol, and El Korah Shrine Temple. His appointment as Ambassador Emeritus was a highlight of his many years of service. He loved parading with the Tin Lizzies and enjoyed the smiles of the children as he passed by in his surrey.

Homer and Edith attended the Congregational Church for many years while in Mountain Home.

Homer, and the love of his life Edith, said their greatest pride and joy were their children and grandchildren. They both held family life as the greatest importance in their lives. "Many wonderful hours were spent watching his grandchildren and great-grandchildren play ball, show livestock and trolling a fishhook," his family said.

"His wonderful smile and upbeat attitude will be terribly missed by all who knew and loved him. He truly showed by example how a real man lived. Hopefully we can all live up to his standard," his family added.

Homer is survived by: his wife, Edith Hatch of Mountain Home; daughter Peggy Whitlock of Portland, Ore.; son Ralph Hatch of Mountain Home; brother Paul Hatch of Ontario, Ore.; sister Pauline McGuiness of Adrian, Ore; five grandchildren: eight great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers Howard and Henry, and two sisters, Helen Hatch and Hazel Ferguson.

Memorials may be made in Homer's name to the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children, Fairfax Ave. and Virginia St., Salt Lake City, UT 84103.