obituaries

Three men who robbed a hardware store near Aitkin, Minn., in broad daylight decades ago might have gotten away with the crime had it not been for John Hogan, who pulled his Minnesota State Patrol squad car in front of their getaway vehicle and pointed his pistol at them, then took them into custody.

"He got all three of them all by himself," said Dave Peterson of Gary, S.D., one of Hogan's patrol partners in the 1960s. "He didn't flinch. He was not afraid of anything. He did what he had to do to bring the bad guys in."

Starting at a salary of 86 cents an hour in 1940, Hogan worked as a state trooper primarily in the Aitkin area, covering at various times all hours of the day and night for 26 years until he retired in 1966.

"He was a good partner to be with," Peterson said. "He could make the night shift come alive, and he knew what he was doing. He had a wealth of stories and experiences, and as a rookie I leaned on that. He was a very good mentor."

Hogan suffered a stroke and broke his hip last month. When he died Dec. 4 at Aitkin Health Services at age 99, he was the oldest retired state trooper.

Known for his sense of humor, he had liked adventure since his youth. Before joining the State Patrol, the Minneapolis North High School graduate traveled the country by hopping trains, claimed a 1928 amateur featherweight boxing championship and worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps, said his daughter Diane Kellerman of Aitkin.

Hogan started his patrol career as a motorcycle patrolman in the Twin Cities, then left to serve in the Navy as a rifle instructor during World War II. He returned and finished his career in Aitkin.

Hogan was a proud member of the Aitkin Fire Department and was buried wearing his fireman's shirt and captain's pins, Kellerman said.

He was civic-minded, a man "who liked people and liked serving," Kellerman said. His service included being a longtime member of the Aitkin area Moose, Elks, Eagles and Lion's clubs. He was a past commander of the Aitkin American Legion Post. Hogan was an usher at St. James Catholic Church in Aitkin for 50 years, and served as a trustee and church council member for many years. Every week, he took time off from his police duties and came to the church in his patrol uniform to teach catechism classes,

Hogan kept a tight schedule, supplementing his patrol income by picking up odd jobs such as painting, but he was a devoted family man, Peterson said.

In his free time, Hogan enjoyed playing cards and had an extensive coin collection. He also liked to travel, once venturing to Ireland three times in the same year, his daughter said.

In addition to his daughter Diane, Hogan is survived by another daughter, Mary Jo Hogan of Tacoma, Wash.; two sons, John of Princeton, Minn., and Thomas of Montesano, Wash.; 13 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.

Services have been held.