Derald Hauck

Derald D. A. Hauck 

April 29, 1942 - September 3, 2024

Written by his wife, Marsha Hauck

Derald D. A. Hauck ("Derry") passed away at St Patricks Hospital in Missoula, MT on September 3rd, 2024 surrounded by his loving family.

Derry was born April 29th, 1942. He was the second child of Arthur A and Lorraine Hauck. His life was action-packed and filled with achievements both in work and play. He understood mechanics and scientific subjects in great depth. When asked any question on these subjects he could continue to answer (even with no further questions) until the "questioner's" eyes would likely glaze over.

He was most proud of his time in the U.S. Amy. He voluntarily enlisted in the Army in 1963 - in the midst of the Vietnam war. He served in the demilitarized zone on the boarder of North and South Korea. He also performed tough missions he had to keep to himself and barely eluded to until recently. After being stationed across seas, he served at Ft Carson, Colorado.

While at Ft Carson, he chose to stay an enlisted man. On his personal time, he set up a barbershop in the barracks. He charged $.50 per buzzcut to raise money for an engagement ring. Once he achieved the rank of Specialist 5th Class, he figured he could afford to get married. He tried to call me back in Montana to propose, but found the line busy for several hours. Derry finally asked for help from an operator. He explained that he was trying to get ahold of his girlfriend back home, but the phone had been tied up for hours. He suspected the little sister had fallen asleep on the phone again while listening to her boyfriend breathe. The operator was eager to help a military man propose and woke the sleeping sister. Once I was brought to the phone, I said yes on the spot. We were married December 17th, 1966.

Singing was a natural talent of Derry's. He joined the Missoula Mendelssohn Club in 1975. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Missoula Symphony Chorale - and later Missoula Community Chorus. He was invited to sing in Esther England's Opera Workshops - and sang second tenor for her shows for many years. He sang in Missoula Children's Theater performances for decades - starting with the talented Jim Caron's first debut of Fiddler On The Roof. He also sang with Lutheran church choirs throughout the years - occasionally singing solos such as "O Holy Night" for our Christmas service. He enjoyed performing on singing tours through Europe. He bade farewell to many of his comrades over the years through song at funerals and memorial services - particularly with the Mendelssohn Club. He sang with community groups until he suffered from a catastrophic stroke in August, 2023 that left him paralyzed on half of his body and unable to speak much beyond a whisper. Despite his predicament, he still enjoyed telling jokes and never lost his sense of humor.

Derry was also a natural born ham-actor. He enjoyed animated theatrics - and taking things to the next level. He was an early member of the Western group called The Outlaws - a shoot 'em up theater group that performed real shoot-outs with horses, carriages, and hangings. He was most well-known for playing Smiling Sam - a naughty drunkard of an outlaw who usually wound up getting hung or shot for drunkenly riding off on someone's horse or some other great offense. The crowds would howl when they watched him make grave mistakes, gasp as he was pulled off the back of a horse to hang and twitch in a tree, and cheer as he shot at aggressors trying to get to him. The Outlaws were invited to perform their skits at fairs, rodeos, and other fundraising events all over the State of Montana. They were invited to perform their Western skits to liven up events numerous times at the Historic Fort Missoula for 4th of July Celebrations and other commemorations. Word got out all across the globe about the group that brought the Old West back to life with real action, shootings, hangings, and horses. Groups came from as far away as China to watch The Outlaws perform. Places like Virginia City and Fort Missoula invited The Outlaws to utilize Montana's historic buildings for their skits - as people came from far and wide to watch them shoot-it-up and see Smiling Sam hang and twitch one more time. The Outlaws were having the time of their lives while they donated their weekends, talent, and energy to fundraise for great causes and events throughout the State of Montana.

Derry loved adventures in the sky. He became a pilot...and much to my avail practiced engine stalls and tight turns with me in the passenger seat of a darling little cessna (his favorite kind of plane). After those shenanigans, he had to find more audaciously bold and enthusiastic co-pilots. He particularly enjoyed flying with his equally daring and bright best friend, Bill Paris. In recent years, they worked on restoring a plane together - and even recruited our youngest to disassemble areas in the plane the two weren't flexible or narrow enough to fit in. The besties stood outside the plane calling out commands and instructions, dreaming of the day they would fly that plane together. They didn't make it back in the air together before Derry passed, but spoke enthusiastically about flying together when they'd visit right up to the end. He enjoyed piloting people long distances. Once, he flew a young couple to Nevada to get married. On a trip to California with his father he flew into a thick storm. He had to land in a narrow canyon on a helicopter pad/small runway in a field with no electronic controls working to guide his landing. Getting back out of that canyon was quite a feat. He had to pull straight back and open the plane all the way up to avoid colliding with the mountain tops. Surviving that takeoff and the foreboding canyon wall was one of his proudest flying experiences. The emergency drills I vowed never to endure again saved him and his passengers more than once. Sometimes he took people on little flights over Glacier Park so they could see the magnificence of that place from a different perspective. After work, he often took quick flights across Flathead Lake to take in the breathtaking Mission Mountains on his way by.

Reading was his favorite pastime. He read science fiction, hard science, fantasy, popular science, popular mechanics, and National Geographic. At 650wpm, he usually read a book or so every day.

Derry's father was a general contractor and a house mover. Derry was his right hand man. When he was just 12 years old, he was already driving the truck that pulled the houses on lumbers down the road long distances. He helped move buildings all the way up to Seeley Lake and many other places in Montana. City officials who were just starting their careers back in the early '70's remember the Hauck's still moving buildings...and the occasional power line hooked on a chimney - or the traffic held up for hours. The house we raised our family in was one of those houses moved on a day when they held up traffic and hooked a power line or two. The house was set to be demolished but had great promise - so Derry's father bought it from the city for $1 with one tiny caveat...they had limited time to get it out of the city limits. Derry, his father, and cousins Russ Hauck and Jeff Hauck put in a daylight basement, drain field, and gutted and remodeled the house on their days off in a little over a year. The only task they didn't have the machinery to do themselves was pound the well. The Hauck men were great builders and excavators.

Derry loved tinkering with electronics and mechanics. For a time, he owned a TV repair shop - and always had a project vehicle or three to work on at the house. He owned a construction company of his own for a stint - doing remodels during his "spare" time. To afford his multiple hobbies, he worked as a machine operator for 35 years at Hoerner Waldorf/Champion Packaging/Smurfit Stone Container. First on paper machine number two, then at the bleach plant. He retired in 2006.

As a family we loved camping, especially at Hungry Horse Reservoir where we went on an annual camping trip. He often found a way to strap a canoe, raft, sailboat, or kayak down to bring along on our camping trips in case there was a long enough break from huckleberry picking to float on the reservoir. He loved boating of all sorts. He was especially passionate about white water rafting. He had a committed group of friends that would raft the Alberton Gorge or make runs down a portion of the Salmon River in Idaho called the "river of no return". He could read the water - and became a well-respected and seasoned river pilot. His nickname was "water rat".

Derry loved good food, especially cherry pie. His mother told him if he wanted to continue getting what he wanted he best learn to make great food for himself. Also, in the best interest of his taste buds and growling stomach, he taught me to cook. In our first years of marriage, we owned a restaurant named Dickey's- where Ruby's cafe still resides. His favorite cousin, Lou Lombardi, shared the same love for food and adventure. One time, Derry bought an RV with bald tires and hopped in it with Lou to drive back East for a family reunion in wintertime. Those two were unstoppable when they set their minds to something. They slid across Montana all the way to Billings before one of those bald tires finally blew out and they headed back home in one piece. Derry had a bedroom set up in our house just for Lou's annual visits from Staten New York we call Lou's room. They have both left us now. We hope they have reunited on the other side. He requested to have a portion of his ashes scattered in the same Montana locations as his beloved cousin Lou.

He was kind to people and pets and tough as nails. When I found a two week old kitten in our horse trailer the day after he'd undergone major surgery, he said we could not keep it. Then he instructed me to go get bottles and kitten formula. He bottle fed that baby (Lucky) for weeks while he nursed himself back to health. Lucky is still looking for Derry in our house.

Derry requested to be placed in a niche in the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery.

He will receive military funeral honors October 17th, 2024 followed by a memorial service. His rifle volley and flag presentation will take place at the VA Cemetery at 12PM. A memorial service will follow at 2PM at the University Congregational Church located at 405 University Ave, Missoula, MT. Flowers are welcome.

Derry requested numerous songs be sung for his last hurrah. The Mendelssohn Club, Missoula Community Chorus, Chamber Chorale, Sweet Adeline's, and friends of Missoula Children's Theater have been invited to sing for his final curtain call. If you are a current or former member of any of the aforementioned groups and would like to sing, please contact their leaders to join in his farewell.