Noreen C. Hokanson

       Noreen C. Hokanson, age 90, passed peacefully on Wednesday April 13, 2022. Noreen is survived by her three sons Peter, Jeffrey and Charles (Angela) and her grandchildren Alex (Stacie), Kaylin (Ben), Sarah, Miles, Elizabeth, Andrew and Sydney and great-grandson Luca.  She is also survived by a brother, John Kaldahl.  Noreen was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 52 years Clarence F. Hokanson and siblings Doris Cowan, Robert Kaldahl, and Donald Kaldahl.
       Noreen was born in Gary Indiana in November of 1931. Just prior to starting school her family moved to Crown Point. She graduated from Crown Point High School in 1949.  After meeting in a church choir, she married Clarence Hokanson of Porter in 1956.  In 1966, they moved their young family to Chesterton.
       Once the boys were in school, she thought about working again. After working for several years before getting married she needed only 3 more months of work time to qualify for social security benefits after retirement. At the time this was her main motivation to work. At the age of 75, she retired from Chesterton High School (CHS) with 34 years of service.
       While working at the school she enjoyed any holiday or other reason to get “dressed up”.  She enjoyed “Spirit Days” much more than most adults and students. She was a fan of “Pajama Days”. Who doesn’t want to go to work in your most comfortable footy pajamas? She also enjoyed “Crazy Hat Day” once going all day wearing a motorcycle helmet.

       Noreen was a member of the 1st United Methodist Church in Chesterton for over 55 years and was a charter member of the Chesterton Associates of the Tri-Kappa Sorority.   
       She and Clarence enjoyed traveling to West Lafayette to support his alma mater Purdue, for most home football and basketball games. Unless Purdue was playing or a past student of CHS was playing on one of the teams, she would often root for the underdog. This was especially true when the opposing team was playing Ohio State or Notre Dame. 
       After the passing of her husband she returned to supporting CHS. She attended as many football and basketball games as possible including the recent CHS basketball victory over Gary-Wirt.  In 2019, she was thrilled to be recognized at home basketball game and awarded a CHS jacket with her name embroidered as a Trojan Super-Fan.  At 90 years young, she was perhaps the most senior member of the cheer squad.
       Funeral Services will be held on Friday, April 22, 2022 at 10 a.m. at White-Love Funeral Home, 525 S 2nd St., Chesterton, IN with Pastor Heather Foley officiating. Burial will follow at Chesterton Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Thursday, April 21, 2022 from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Please share your wonderful memories with the family at: www.whitelovefuneralhome.com.

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