Rodney M. 'Rod' Hanneman, 73

Rodney “Rod” M. Hanneman passed away in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at the Hospice House of Spokane, Wash., after a long, courageous battle with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Born on June 15, 1936 to Floral and Fred Hanneman, Rod spent his childhood on his family’s dairy farm in Sagle, Idaho. He often told stories of the people he knew from delivering milk to the local businesses in Sandpoint, Idaho.

When he wasn’t working, he would go on adventures with his friend Aaron Davis and attend school at the one room schoolhouse in Algoma, Idaho. He loved to tell stories of those times, the adventures, of classic fifties cars and of the highway patrol asking him if they could try out his latest model.

In 1957, Rod met his forever love, Janet Hoskins, of Clark Fork, Idaho. The two married on August 26, 1961 and moved to Darby, Mont., where they lived for 43 years. It was in the Bitterroot Valley — a place he loved until they day he died, that Rod and Janet would raise their daughters, Lisa and Nita. It was here that he would also become a respected logger, businessman, and pillar of the local community.

Employed by Del Conner Lumber Rod earned a reputation for being a hard-working, self-educated, outspoken, and honest man. In 1966, given only a 10 percent chance to live, Rod would survive his first battle with cancer. The battle won. Rod’s hard work would pay off and he was able to purchase logging equipment from his good friend John Coultas from what had become Coultas and Conner Logging Co. He then started his own business, Rod Hanneman Logging — which he ran for 35 years. Rod was a logger at heart and proud of it. To this day, his daughters describe themselves as “logger’s daughters.”

Rod was a devoted family man for whom traditions were very important. Every year, for 25 years, Rod would read “The Night Before Christmas” (from the same book) to his grandchildren on Christmas Eve.

Hanneman was a gifted mechanic, skilled craftsman, avid outdoorsman, and terrific story teller. Rod was also a voracious reader blessed with a photographic memory.

It was his love of reading and his incredibly sharp mind that would serve him well as he became involved with the local Masonic Lodge — Ionic No. 38. It was there, that he served as Worshipful Master from 1996-97. In addition to being a Mason, he was a Baghdad Shriner and was particularly fond of building, and driving, miniature cars in parades — especially his fire engine. Rod loved Masonic history and degree work. His favorite was The Staircase Lecture.

In 2001, despite severe complications, Rod survived his second battle with cancer. He was saved by what his family came to refer to as his “Deaconess Angels.” It was at this time that Rod and Janet decided it best to move to Spokane to be closer to their daughters and the rest of their family. In 2005, Rod’s Deaconess Angels would come to his rescue again and bring him back to life after he, quite literally, dropped dead from a heart attack in front of the hospital. He would awake, days later, in the ICU and tell the doctors attending him, “If you’re going to get old, you gotta be tough.”

Thanks to his Angels, Rod and Janet spent four quiet happy years with Rod’s beloved dog Mandy at their home in Newman Lake, Wash. He loved to garden, read, fish with his son-in-law Frank, watch his grandson Branden and second son-in-law Randy play hockey, spend time laughing with his granddaughter Chelsy, and talking politics and economics with his oldest grandson Zach.

While Rod loved being closer to his family, he always missed the Bitterroot Valley and the lifelong friends he and Janet made there.

At the end of his final battle with cancer, Rod would tell Dr. Coulston — the doctor at Deaconess who had saved his life several times over, that, “I was proud to have you as my doctor.”

The family would like to thank all of those at Deaconess that helped us fight for 51 days. We would also like to thank those at the Hospice House who helped us finish the fight gracefully.

Preceded in death by his parents Fred and Floral Hanneman and his sister Ruth Bair, he is survived by his wife Janet Hanneman, his daughter’s Lisa Skaw and Nita Amatto, his son-in-laws Frank Skaw and Randy Amatto, his grandchildren Zach Skaw (Janelle), Chelsy Skaw, and Branden Amatto, brother Tom Hanneman (Lynn) sister Petty Ponach and numerous nieces and nephews .

Services will be held Saturday Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. at the Daly Leach Chapel in Hamilton, Mont. A celebration of life gathering will be held in Spokane in the summer of 2010. Internment will be in the Bitterroot Mountains he loved.