Roscoe Hatch

07/08/1919 – 6/04/2010
Birthplace: Fall City, OR
Last Resided in: Bellingham, WA
Service: Vigil
Location: Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Date: Sun. July 6, 2010
Time: 7 pm
Service: Mass of Christian Burial
Location: Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Date: Mon. July 7, 2010
Time:10 am
Obituary
Roscoe B. Hatch, age 90 of Bellingham, passed away June 4, 2010. He was born July 8, 1919 in Fall City, OR to John & Mabel (Cobb) Hatch. Roscoe graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Engineering and served as an Engineer in the US Army during WWII in France and Germany. He met Bernice Klapperich in Washington D.C. before WWII and they married on July 27, 1946 in Melrose, MN. Following the war he continued his military career in the Army National Guard, and worked as a Civil Engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers. He was a longtime member of the Catholic Church. Roscoe loved the outdoors, and often spent his free time hiking, fishing, hunting, and rock hounding. He was an avid carpenter and built a beautiful home on Whidbey Island. Roscoe loved gardening and always produced wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables to feed his family.
He is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Bernice; children Peter (Paqui) Hatch of Spain and Ken (Barb) Hatch of Vancouver, BC; Carolyn Hatch of Salt Spring Island, BC; Don Hatch of Lexington, KY; Diane Hatch of Mountlake Terrace, WA; and grandchildren Kevin Hatch of Calgary, AB, Morgan Loftin of Seattle, and Heidi and Alexis Hatch, both of Spain.
A Vigil Service will be held at Sacred Heart on Sunday, June 6th at 7 PM. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Sacred Heart on Mon. June 7th at 10 AM, followed by a reception at the church.
Text of Eulogy
Remembering my Father
by Peter Hatch
My dad, Roscoe Baldwin Hatch, was one of the smartest and best-informed men I ever knew. There was hardly anything about any subject that he didn’t have a working knowledge of. How it worked. Or how to figure it out. Or just plain how to do it. And he was always willing and eager to share his thoughts and his knowledge with anybody who asked.
Growing up in the small town of Falls City, Oregon on the western slopes of the Willamette valley, he was the youngest child in a family with six kids; all future engineers and teachers. At a time when a high-school education was a real accomplishment; only the most capable students even dreamed of college. Dad went on to
graduate from Oregon State College in Civil Engineering and he worked as an engineer for the US Government Corps of Engineers until retirement. He used to tell how, when he was in high school, they gave standardized tests every year to the whole school; even the faculty. He always got the 2nd-highest score in the school, both in English and Math. His mother, the English teacher in the school got the highest score in English and his dad, also a teacher, principal of the school and occasionally mayor of the town, got the highest score in Math.
There wasn’t much my dad didn’t know about things like trout fishing, either. Always perfectly willing to admit that his brother Loring was the most-expert fly fisherman in the family, Dad always said that Loring could coax a fish out of just about any spot he wanted, unless there just plain wasn’t one there, and even then, he would give it a try. But it was his dad who usually caught the most fish.
One opening day, my dad joined Loring on a hike up the Lukiamute river above Blackrock, where there wasn’t a road, only a trail up the old railroad bed, in the snow and rain, while his dad stayed down fishing in the river just above the town. Loring caught only 3 fish that day, which for him was virtual failure and my dad got none… but his dad caught his limit (30 fish per day in those days). When the two hikers got back and reported their results, the old man went to work and filled up their limits, too. So it was only natural that he took his sons up fishing and hiking on the Lukiamute, too.
Dad knew the whole state of Oregon like the back of his hand…
Guestbook
From: Katherine Benoit
City/State: Birmingham, MI
Uncle Ross was my godfather and my favorite Uncle. I had a special relationship with him. We enjoyed visits and trips in Washington and Oregon. John and I took him white water rafting for his 70th birthday… and he was truly amazing. Johns godson came with us on one trip and he always said “How does he know so much “stuff”. Ross took me Salmon fishing with my Dad … the first fish I ever caught. And who will ever forget the time he got “arrested”. I still have the news article. He was really amazing and I will miss him. All my love to the Hatch family at this difficult time. Love Kath
From: Jim and Pat O’Brien
City/State: Bellingham, WA
Ross and Bea were delightful new additions to our 8:30 Mass so the men could share the pew while the wives sang upstairs in the choir. We enjoyed their contributions to the evening prayer-study group and many parish activities. Ross was a gentle friend and he will be missed. With love from the O’Briens, Pat and Jim
From: BILLY JOE & MARIA REYNOLDS
City/State: BELLINGHAM, WA
Our condolences and sincere sympathy to the family of Roscoe Hatch. Along with his WW II service, National Guard and Civilian Service with the Army Corps of Engineers we were pleased to know him as an active member of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees association (NARFE) His active membership and chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee was very helpful and will be remembered by all of us at Chapter 194.
From: JoAnn Ashby
City/State: Longmont, Colorado
My prayers are with you, Bea, and all of your family. It was a joy to have known Ross.