Eric Andre Hovde (born 10/17/1948) died on January 23rd, 2023 in Elma, WA. The son of Sharon Malinowski, née Jull (2/27/1930 – 8/15/2013) and Richard Peter Hovde (11/11/1930 – 12/25/1981), Eric was a soft-hearted and loving friend, brother, father, and grandfather.

Eric was, in a word, clever. He was clever when it came to jokes and riddles, frequently calling his various family members to blurt out a riddle, laugh together, and then would hang up the phone. He was clever when it came to books and music. He loved mystery novels and big band music, and always had a recommendation for both in his back pocket. He was clever in business; as a serial entrepreneur he owned and operated a variety of businesses through his life — from a grocery store, to a secondhand store, to a construction company. He was certainly clever when it came to carpentry. As an accomplished master carpenter, he enjoyed using his clever brain to draft plans for structures and seeing them come to life. He also enjoyed the work on a smaller scale, building wooden furniture for friends and family and tinkering in his garage — a hub for his clever creativity. When he wasn’t succeeding at his craft, he enjoyed using his clever mind to come up with oddball puzzles to confuse his drinking buddies.

And, he was clever up until the end. The morning before he died, he mentioned to his son, Pete, and his grandson, Jacob, that he wanted to go in his sleep. “You know in that movie Grumpy Old Men when their friend dies in their sleep and they all say ‘lucky bastard’,” he said to them. “That’s how I want to go.” And go he did that evening, with a cheeky, clever half-smile on his face; he was at peace. Lucky bastard.

Eric is survived by his brother, Rich Hovde; daughter, Jodi Dillashaw; son, Pat Hovde; grandchildren, Dani Everson, Katie Hovde, Devin Dillashaw and Jacob Hovde; and his great-grandchildren, Josie Dillashaw and Eden Hovde-Leckman.