Francis Joseph Hoch

Francis J. “Bud” Hoch, 88, died Wednesday, March 2, 2011, after an extended illness. Bud was born June 6, 1922 in Oklahoma City to William Henry and Asalyn Ewers Hoch. He attended public schools in Oklahoma City and graduated in the first graduating class at Northeast High School in 1940. He enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in 1940 but entered active service in the U.S. Navy (Seabees) in November 1942, where he served as an electrician with the 47th Construction Battalion in the Solomon Islands, and later on the island of New Caldonia. The battalion built and maintained air bases for the Navy and Marines from 1942 until 1945. Upon leaving the U.S. Navy, Bud completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from O.U. in the spring of 1948. Following graduation, he entered the Test Engineering Program at General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania. After working in several General Electric plants in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Bud moved to Houston to work in General Electric’s Service Engineering Division. In 1951, Bud joined his father, Harry Hoch, Harry Reeves and G.F. Erlich as an engineer and estimator at Industrial Electric Company in Oklahoma City. Later Bud would become president and owner of the company. He was a Registered Engineer and member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers; National Electrical Contractors Association, where he served as Governor of the Western Oklahoma Chapter; was named a Fellow of the Academy of Electrical Contracting in 1986; and served as a member of the Council on Industrial Relations for the Electrical Contracting Industry. Bud was the middle child of nine children and is survived by one sister, Mary Walker of Houston and a brother, Tom Hoch and his wife Joanne of Oklahoma City. Bud was introduced to Frances Treeman by his sister Betty during the time they all attended the University of Oklahoma. Francie and Bud were married on July 30, 1949. Bud is survived by his wife, Frances; daughters Ann Hoch of Fredericksburg, Texas; and Jane Sykes and her husband Dan of Fort Worth, Texas; and son, Joe Hoch and his wife Roxanna of Billings, Montana. His grandchildren include Clark Sykes and wife Lauren of Fort Worth, Alison Ayrea and husband Todd of Dallas, Elizabeth Johnston and husband Brian of Fort Worth, and Leanna and Joanne Hoch of Billings Montana. He also has three great grandchildren, Whitton Sykes and Lucy and Polly Johnston. While Bud’s vocation was the electrical business, his avocation was golf. From an early age he loved the game of golf and caddied to help assist his parents and brothers and sisters during the Depression. He and his brothers caddied at Twin Hills Country Club and Lincoln Park Municipal Golf Course. Bud was a fine golfer, playing in high school and on the golf team at OU. He won a number of local tournaments including the Oklahoma City Fourball Tournament in 1948, and later that year winning the President’s Flight of the State Amateur Golf Tournament. He served for years on the Board of Directors of Lincoln Park Golf Course, and later Hefner Golf Course. He served as a director of G.O.L.F., Inc.; supported the Junior Golf Program; the All College Golf Tournament sponsored by Oklahoma City University; and the scholarship fund for the O.U. golf team. He represented the U.S.G.A. in organizing the Oklahoma Sectional Qualifying Tournament for the National Public Links Tournament, representing Oklahoma in this tournament in Buffalo, NY in 1962. He supported and assisted with the P.G.A. Championship Tournament at Twin Hills Country Club in 1956, and the U.S.G.A. National Amateur Tournament at Oak Tree Golf Club in 1984. Bud was a dedicated member of Westminster Presbyterian Church for 60 years, where he served several terms on the Board of Trustees. A Memorial Service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Saturday, March 5, at 11:00 a.m.

If desired, memorial gifts can be made in Bud’s memory to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 4400 N. Shartel, Oklahoma City, OK 73118 or The Alzheimer’s Association, 6465 S. Yale, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74136