Allin Hodge

Allin Hodge, age 83, of Wall, S.D., died on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, at the Philip Nursing Home.
    Allin Andrew Hodge was born to Joseph Fred and Anna Christensen Hodge on May 14, 1933, in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. He grew to young manhood in Dover, Idaho, and attended schools in Sandpoint, Idaho. He left school during his sophomore year and went into the logging and trucking business.
    Allin served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict and was honorably discharged in 1955.
    It was in June of 1956, he married Margaret Vann at Lolo, Mont. They were blessed with three children, Bonita, Joe and Dale. They later moved to California where Allin was employed in a lumber yard in Sacramento until they divorced.
    He worked for Kennecott Copper Company for awhile and then went into the trucking company. During these years, he was married several times. It was January 25, 1976, that he married Carol Anne Dale in Philip, S.D.
    After the marriage, he sold his truck in 1976 when they moved to Montana and operated a trailer park. He then drove truck part-time. The family lived around Missoula and Huson, Mont., until 2000.
    Allin worked for Louisiana Pacific from 1979 until he retired in 1998. In 1992, Allin and Carol untook the building of their own home and lived in it until 2000 in Huson, Mont. It was then they went RV’ing full time and after a year they bought a home in the Whetstone area of Arizona to retire in. They continued to travel in the summer to escape the heat and come back to Arizona in the winter to leave the snow behind. In May 2005, Al and Carol returned to Montana and on to South Dakota. It was November 2005 that they moved to Wall to be with Carol's remaining family.
    Allin is survived by his wife, Carol Anne; one daughter, Bonnie Zehnder and her husband, Mike; three sons, Jae (Bridget) Dale, Joe Cowan and Dale (Angie) Cowan; nine grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.
    Allin was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Anna Hodge; and one daughter, Colleen Dale Krueger.
    "I love you both and I know this is hard for you but I am trying to make some of this easier I know you don't know all the details so I wrote them down. I'm in heaven now and am waiting for all of my loved ones to join me. Please get yourselves prepared also."
    Graveside services with military honors were held Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016, at the Masonic Cemetery in Philip with Pastor Kent Borglum officiating.
    Arrangements were with Rush Funeral Home of Philip.