Mildred Hoatson

M ildred H oatson of rural Hershey peacefully passed away at age 95 on September 20, 2023, while recently staying the Sutherland Care Center.

Mildred was born south of Hershey to Louie T. and Agnes Broeder on October 26, 1927.  She attended one-room K-8 schools southeast of Hershey, often getting to school riding horseback with her siblings, then boarded in North Platte to attend high school.  Mildred graduated from NPHS in 1945 then obtained her teaching certificate and taught K-8 at Lower Birdwood Country School, northwest of Hershey.

While teaching, Mildred met Fred Hoatson who was working with his father and brothers on the family farm on Birdwood Creek.  The couple wed on May 17, 1947.  They had two sons, Claude and Blaine, and continued working on the farm.  The family hand milked 6 to 8 dairy cows daily for many years and sold the cream to purchase most of the groceries.

Besides raising the boys, Mildred also helped supplement the family income by raising chickens and had a large garden every year, canning some of the produce.  At each of the two houses where the family lived, Mildred had large strawberry patches which produced gallons and gallons of berries each day at peak production.  When she got tired of picking, she'd invite others to come and "pick their own".  Along with her garden produce, Mildred grew flowers that were prize winners at the Lincoln County Fair; she has the ribbons to show for this.

Mildred was active in the Hershey United Methodist Church and served two terms as president of the UMW, and was a member of the Lower Birdwood school board for most of the years her sons attended that school.

Fred and Mildred enjoyed traveling and visiting family and friends around the U.S. as well as trips to Alaska, New England for fall foliage, Australia and New Zealand.  After Fred's death in 2013, Mildred continued to live at home.

Mildred's hobbies included counted cross-stitch and crocheted needlework.  She spent countless hours working on these to produce Christmas ornaments, pictures, and framed family names for newlyweds and other family members.

Along with her husband, Mildred was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Maxine (Glenn) Price and Iola Broeder; brother, Lyle Broeder; in-laws, William and Ruba Hoatson; brothers-in-law, Frank (Dorothy) Hoatson, Earl (Millie) Hoatson; and several nieces, nephews, and countless neighbors and friends.

Mildred is survived by her sons, Claude (Kelly) Hoatson and Blaine (Nancy) Hoatson of rural Hershey; grandchildren, Riley Hoatson of Hershey, Adam Hoatson (Stephanie Simpson) of Sutherland, Madison Hoatson of North Platte and Colin Hoatson of Denver; sister-in-law, Janet Broeder of Hershey; many nieces, nephews and other family as well as her friends and neighbors.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 26, at the Hershey United Methodist Church with Pastor Mark Baldwin officiating.  Burial will follow in the North Platte Cemetery.

Visitation is Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and with family greeting from 4-6 p.m. at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore, which is in charge of arrangements.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are to the church, Sutherland Public School Foundation, Hershey Public School Foundation, or the Hershey/Sutherland Fire Departments.  Online condolences may be shard at odeanchapel.com.