Merle Clarence Hobbs
Marriages
Bettie Wyland Hobbs - February 14, 1970
Burial Details
Obituaries
Eagle Valley Enterprise page 7 - May 5, 2011
Merle Clarence Hobbs of Fruita left this world surrounded by his loving family Sunday morning, May 1, 2011, to be with his heavenly father.
Merle was born Oct. 17, 1938 in Miles City, Mont., to Clarence and Sadie (Martin) Hobbs. He moved with his family to the Boise valley in Idaho as a toddler and spent all of his early life there.
Merle graduated from Kuna High School in Kuna, Idaho, in 1956. He often joked that he “got by†in the classroom so he could play sports. He was a star on the football field, basketball court and the track, earning many awards and honors. The faded glory of the undefeated seasons Merle and his teammates enjoyed were some of his most treasured memories.
Merle moved to Colorado in the spring of 1969 to go into business with his brother, Max, forming the company, Hobbs Brother's logging. Soon after that he met his sweetheart, Bettie Wyland. Appropriately, they were married on Valentines Day, Feb. 14, 1970, and enjoyed a loving 41-year partnership, working side by side in life raising and enjoying their family, farming and building a successful business.
In 1973, Merle founded Hobbs Excavation in the Eagle Valley. He was instrumental in constructing many of the early subdivisions and installing much of the expanding infrastructure in the Eagle and Gypsum areas. He particularly enjoyed doing the excavation on lots for people as they built new homes for their families. One of the things that Merle was the most proud of was that his three sons continue that work today with the excavation and trucking. He always loved to hear all of the details about each job or project they were doing and give them his input about what they should do and how to do it.
His 1930 Ford Model A pickup that he restored from the ground up was the crown jewel of Merle's greatest accomplishments and enjoyments. He also loved riding his four-wheeler around the farm and checking out the crops, or driving his JD tractor and still moving dirt where he thought it was needed. Recently, Merle loved to play the Wii with Bettie and play solitaire on his I-pad. Merle and Bettie played cribbage together most evenings after dinner and he was always convinced that it was his turn to have the “crib.â€
Merle is survived by his wife, Bettie; daughters, Joy Hobbs and Julie Hobbs of Boise, Idaho, and Dena Finer of Star, Idaho; sons, Glenn Hobbs of Lake Elsinore, Calif., Stewart (Vikki) Hobbs, and Rowdy Hobbs (Karen) of Gypsum, and Travis (Michele) Hobbs of Loma; sisters, Phyllis (Hubert) Sharp of Elko, Nev., and Myrta (Arnold) Jensen of Newburg, Ore. Merle had 12 grandchildren, Dallas and Josh Mock, Nicole Williams, and Chasity Lambrecht of Idaho, Shawna Potter of Virginia, Shannon, Cole, Trace, Mattie and Stryker Hobbs of Gypsum, and Braden and Caiden Hobbs of Loma. They were the delight of his life, watching them grow and play. He was also blessed with great-grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, and many caring neighbors, and his beloved dog, Baylee.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Sadie Hobbs, brother, Max A. Hobbs; sister, Doris Steiger; and son-in-law, Bob Finer.
A celebration of Merle's life to honor him will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, May 6, at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary.
The family would like to thank the wonderful people at Hospice who have been taking excellent care of Merle the past few months and gave him the best quality of life possible for as long as they could, and for always arranging their schedules to ensure that Merle could watch his favorite television show, “The Virginian,†every afternoon at 2:30.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made to Hospice Palliative Care of Western Colorado, 3090 North 12th Street, Grand Junction, CO 81506
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5B - May 3, 2011
