Dennis Hobert passed away peacefully on March 24th at the age of 78 surrounded by his loving family. He was born on May 21st 1947 in Endicott to Peter and Helen Hobert. Dennis graduated from Union Endicott High School, after which he joined the United States Air Force and proudly served his country in Vietnam where he was stationed at Da Nang Air Force base as an F-4 fighter jet Crew Chief. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal for meritorious service and was honorably discharged in 1969 at the rank of Staff Sergeant. Following his military service, Dennis returned to Endicott where he met his wife of 54 years, Etta. In the summer of 1994, Dennis retired from IBM, where he worked for 30 years as an Equipment Maintenance Engineer and metallurgist.
Dennis was known for his love of the outdoors where he enjoyed working on his property in the Town of Maine. He also enjoyed hiking in the Adirondacks and riding his motorcycles through the hills of the Southern Tier. Throughout his lifetime, he studied many topics of interest from history to astronomy, to spirituality and his overarching philosophy was that the purpose of life is to experience challenges and to learn and grow through them. As a car and motorcycle enthusiast, Dennis’s love for classic cars began with his 1964 Corvette, in which he taught his wife, Etta, to drive a manual transmission.
However, there was nothing that he loved more than his family. Dennis loved playing catch and hitting pop flies and ground balls to his sons Peter and Matthew. After his wife, his other two favorite girls were his daughter-in-law, Stephanie Hobert and his granddaughter, Alyssa. Dennis loved teaching Alyssa to play Crazy 8’s, and Alyssa fondly remembers watching the Polar Express with her Poppy. Dennis was always happiest when he was surrounded by his loved ones.
Dennis is survived by his wife Etta, sons Peter Hobert (Stephanie), Matthew Hobert and granddaughter Alyssa Mae Hobert. A private ceremony is being held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Dennis’s honor to the Humane Society of Broome County.