Howard Hoge, 78

ANNAPOLIS - Howard Hoge, of Annapolis, passed away peacefully on Feb. 26, 2009. He was 78. Howard was born in Cambridge, the son of the late Roland and Edna Hoge, and brother of Henry and Joan who also predeceased him. His father passed away when he was five years old. His family moved to Baltimore where they raised goats and sold the milk to hospitals for children who were lactose intolerant. In 1948, he joined the U.S. Navy (on the flip of a coin) and headed off to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. He went to Sonar Training School. While in Minnesota, he met his wife, Marie, who passed away in 2006. He was assigned to the USS Sarsfield, a minesweeper/destroyer that patrolled the Great Lakes. He remained active in the USS Sarsfield Association, attending the annual reunions until 2007. Howard's interest in sonar and radar led him to the Bendix Radio Corporation, where he worked on radardomes. Eventually this led him to a career working as a subcontractor for NASA, where he was involved in virtually every manned space flight and satellite launch. He spent nearly 13 years in Bermuda, and traveled to the remote tracking stations for NASA around the world. He returned to Maryland in 1973, continuing his relationship with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center until 1988. He joined Computer Science Corporation and retired in 2006. He is survived by his three nephews, Rusty and Jay Hoge, and John Tracey, and numerous cousins. A Life Celebration was held Sunday, March 1, 2009, at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater. Burial will be Friday in Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Crownsville. Please sign online guestbook at www.Kalasfuneralhomes.com.