Marvis T. Hogen

Marvis T. Hogen was born November 6, 1923, on his Norwegian parents' homestead north of Kadoka, South Dakota.  He attended the one-room South Creek country school and graduated from Kadoka High School.  He briefly attended Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, before his enlistment in the Army Air Corps in 1942.

During World War II he flew 30 combat missions over Germany as a lead bombardier for a squadron of B-24 "Liberators" with the 453d Bomb Group of the 2d Air Division of the 8th Air Force.  He received a battlefield commission and was honorably discharged from military service with the rank of 1st Lieutenant.

In 1943 he married Florence Brown of Kadoka.  Their union produced four children, whom they raised in their home in Kadoka.

In 1946 Marvis and Florence started their hardware business on the Main Street of Kadoka, where, with the help of their children and their families, it continues to operate as a successful family business, together with another Hogen's Hardware Store in Pierre.  The business expanded over the years to include farm supply and mechanical contracting, serving the communities, farms, and ranches well beyond Kadoka.  In connection with the celebration of the 50th year anniversary of the hardware store in May of 1996, Marvis wrote and published memoirs from the business, which he called "Fifty Years on Main Street".

While operating the store, Marvis returned to the agricultural roots, acquiring ranch and farm lands north of Kadoka, which eventually included the original Hogen homestead where he was born and raised.  Registered Longhorn cattle, other livestock, and wheat were among the products Marvis proudly raised on the ranch, where stock carrying his Lazy-T-H-connected brand still run today.

Always active in civic affairs, Marvis held a variety of positions in civic organizations and his church in Kadoka.  His activity with Republican politics led him to several terms as Jackson County Republican Chairman, and later to three terms in the South Dakota House of Representatives and two terms in the State Senate.  During his service in the legislature from 1972 to 1982, Marvis served on the Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council, and as chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

Marvis was appointed State Secretary of Agriculture by South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow in January of 1983; he was reappointed to that position by Governor George Mickelson in 1987, and served until October of 1988, when he resigned to take care of some long delayed projects in his ranch and business operations.

In October of 1989, Marvis was appointed State Director of the Farmers Home Administration in the United States Department of Agriculture, where he served until his retirement in 1991.

Whenever the opportunity presented itself for Marvis to use one of his airplanes for business or pleasure, he took advantage of it, logging hundreds of hours in the Cessna, Piper, and Ercoupe planes he owned and piloted.

Since his retirement he devoted much time to collecting antiques.  His specialty was what he called WUTTAH?'s (Who used these things and how?).  His collection of these items once in common use, but not readily recognizable today, numbered several hundred, and he displayed them at various shows and celebrations.

Marvis served on the South Dakota Heritage Fund Steering Committee, the Board of the Central South Dakota Health and Education Foundation, as Chariman of the South Dakota Railroad Board, and as the President of the Minnesota-Dakota Retail Hardware Association.  He served on the boards of directors of several area banks, including the Belvidere State Bank, BankWest, American State Bank, Pierre, and Stockman's National Bank.  He was a member of Concordia Lutheran Church, the Western South Dakota Buckaroos, and many other organizations.

Marvis was recently hospitalized in connection with heart by-pass surgery, and he died at his home in Kadoka on January 2, 1997.

Grateful for haivng shared his life are his wife, Florence L. Hogen, Kadoka; three sons and their spouses, Philip and Marilyn Hogen, Rapid City, Baxter and Diane Hogen, Kadoka, and Cash and Julie Hogen, Pierre; one daughter and her husband, Randi and Don Oyan, Kadoka; five grandchildren: Vanya Hogen-Kind, St. Louis Park, Minnesota; Herbert Hogen, Bellingham, Washington; Inga Oyan, Stewartville, Minnesota; Kelda Oyan, Ft. Collins, Colorado; and Katie Oyan, Missoula, Montana; two sisters, Lucille Olson, Kadoka, and Olive Taggart, Aberdeen; and a host of other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom Hogen and Marie Langorgan Hogen, and his sister, Edith R. Hogen.

A memorial has been established.

Services
Monday, January 6, 1997
2:00 p.m.
Kadoka City Auditorium
Kadoka, South Dakota

Officiating
Pastor William Hamill

Eulogies
Philip Hogen - George Renning
Steve Zellmer

Musicians
Beth and Dan Palmer
Paul, Mimi, and Meagan Swisher

Ushers
David Bauman - Mark Merchen
Larry Parkinson - Orville Sandall

Active Pallbearers
Tommy Terkildsen - Boyd Porch
Allen Berry - Lloyd Olson
Pete Swisher - Paul Swisher

Honorary Pallbearers
All relatives and friends in attendance

Interment
Kadoka Cemetery
Kadoka, South Dakota

Service Details

Services
Monday, January 6, 1997
2:00 p.m.
Kadoka City Auditorium in Kadoka