Darlene (Palmer) Hoklin

Darlene Palmer Hoklin passed away Tuesday at the age of 97, leaving a long legacy of charity work and devotion to her church and family. Born in the small farming community of Elk Point, South Dakota, Darlene grew up during the Great Depression. Her mother worked as a seamstress during those difficult economic times to help support the family, which included Darlene’s two brothers, John and Robert Palmer.

After World War II, she married the love of her life, Leif Hoklin, who had returned from service in the 8th Air Force (U.S. Army). The couple lived in Minneapolis where Leif graduated from the Northwestern School of Chiropractic. They relocated to Billings, Montana, in 1951, where he established his practice.

Darlene contributed her time and talent to various charities, among them Ronald McDonald House, where she comforted the needy families of hospitalized children. For more than seven decades she shared her faith far and wide, speaking to Christian women’s groups throughout Montana, leading Bible studies and teaching Sunday school.

In 2016, Darlene accompanied two of her sons and a daughter-in-law to Batz-Sur-Mer on the Bay of Biscay in France, where local citizens honored her late husband and his fellow bomber crew members with a ceremony and a stone memorial to commemorate their contribution to liberating France from Hitler’s occupiers. Seven decades earlier, on January 3, 1943, German fighters shot down Leif’s B-17 on a bombing mission against a nearby submarine base. Leif was one of only three members of the 10-man crew to survive the mission. In an interview with a French television network, Darlene spoke of the hardships that her husband endured for 28 months in German prison camps.

Darlene’s faith played a central role in her life as a wife and mother. Friends and family speak of her compassion, tenderheartedness and sense of humor (she often told jokes at the beginning of her Bible classes). She loved animals, especially dogs and the occasional cat, as well as crossword puzzles. On holidays she prepared sumptuous Scandinavian meals, using recipes supplied by her Norwegian mother-in-law. She loved to laugh, and she loved having people laugh with her.

Darlene’s husband preceded her in death in 1986. She is survived by her four sons: Lonn (Paula) of Portland; John (Barbara) of Minneapolis; Noel (Diego) of Billings; and Stephen (Vikki) of Billings. She is also survived by her brother Robert, of Bettendorf, Iowa.

A memorial service will take place at a date to be announced later.

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