Hugh Thomas Hoskins
March 29, 1936 — December 4, 2014
Hugh Thomas Hoskins, 78, a longtime resident of Downey, California passed away on Thursday December 4th 2014. Hugh was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on March 29, 1936 to parents Hugh Adam Hoskins and Lucille Anita Thomas.
Hugh is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Arliss of Downey, his daughter Lianne Hoskins (Mark) Yarvis of Portland, Oregon, his son Doug (Bridgett) Hoskins of Downey and his grandchildren, Emily and Zachary Yarvis of Portland, Oregon. Hugh was devoted to his family and friends and valued his various roles as a Husband, Dad, and Grandpa.
Hugh graduated from USC with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1958. While working for North American Aviation in the booming Southern California Aerospace industry, he went back to school earning a Master’s degree from USC in Electrical Engineering in 1962. Hugh programmed large IBM computing systems for North American, and as a devout USC Trojan, he took the card stunts for the weekly football games to a new level by designing and programming a USC computing system to print the individual cards mapped to the seats from 1962-1970.
It was during this time that Hugh took liberty with the weekly card stunts by inserting his own personal display — using it to proposed to his then girlfriend, Arliss. The display read “Hugh Loves Arliss”. They were married in 1967, bringing them to 47 years together.
In addition to his allegiance to the USC Trojans, Hugh was also involved in the Masonic Order, following in the footsteps of his father. He was a past master of Downey Masonic Lodge #220 and an Officer’s Coach for many many years. Hugh was awarded the Hiram award and also recently received his 50 year service pin in 2012.
Hugh continued in computing for the rest of his career, staying on with North American as it transitioned to Rockwell and then later became part of Boeing, from which he retired after a total of over 40 years of service. Hugh met his wife Arliss Klauser while they both worked at North American in Downey on the Saturn Rocket project as part of the Apollo missions. He later worked on the Space Shuttle computing systems while with Rockwell.
Hugh has also served as a Board Member of the Downey Historical Society. Having been a Downey resident since 1944 (after he migrated with his parents from Ohio in 1943), he offered a keen perspective on the area’s past. As a youngster, Hugh stood on a spot on Firestone Blvd in Downey and sold newspapers for the whopping price of a nickel.
Outside of his family and work life, Hugh loved to travel and after retirement he also enjoyed spending time researching his family tree. Hugh was a direct descendant of a Revolutionary War Veteran, being the great-great-great grandson of Josiah Hoskinson. Hugh’s travels took him all over the United States, Canada, and twice to Europe before he retired. After retirement he and Arliss visited all kinds of interesting places such as Spitzbergen (“Top of The World” in Northern Norway), Australia, Zermatt (Switzerland), and many trips to Las Vegas where he and Arliss enjoyed many buffet meals.
He also enjoyed watching Jeopardy! and eating popcorn and was a huge stickler for proper grammar.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to the City of Hope, www.cityofhope.org
Condolences may be sent to the family through our web site.
Hugh is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Arliss of Downey, his daughter Lianne Hoskins (Mark) Yarvis of Portland, Oregon, his son Doug (Bridgett) Hoskins of Downey and his grandchildren, Emily and Zachary Yarvis of Portland, Oregon. Hugh was devoted to his family and friends and valued his various roles as a Husband, Dad, and Grandpa.
Hugh graduated from USC with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1958. While working for North American Aviation in the booming Southern California Aerospace industry, he went back to school earning a Master’s degree from USC in Electrical Engineering in 1962. Hugh programmed large IBM computing systems for North American, and as a devout USC Trojan, he took the card stunts for the weekly football games to a new level by designing and programming a USC computing system to print the individual cards mapped to the seats from 1962-1970.
It was during this time that Hugh took liberty with the weekly card stunts by inserting his own personal display — using it to proposed to his then girlfriend, Arliss. The display read “Hugh Loves Arliss”. They were married in 1967, bringing them to 47 years together.
In addition to his allegiance to the USC Trojans, Hugh was also involved in the Masonic Order, following in the footsteps of his father. He was a past master of Downey Masonic Lodge #220 and an Officer’s Coach for many many years. Hugh was awarded the Hiram award and also recently received his 50 year service pin in 2012.
Hugh continued in computing for the rest of his career, staying on with North American as it transitioned to Rockwell and then later became part of Boeing, from which he retired after a total of over 40 years of service. Hugh met his wife Arliss Klauser while they both worked at North American in Downey on the Saturn Rocket project as part of the Apollo missions. He later worked on the Space Shuttle computing systems while with Rockwell.
Hugh has also served as a Board Member of the Downey Historical Society. Having been a Downey resident since 1944 (after he migrated with his parents from Ohio in 1943), he offered a keen perspective on the area’s past. As a youngster, Hugh stood on a spot on Firestone Blvd in Downey and sold newspapers for the whopping price of a nickel.
Outside of his family and work life, Hugh loved to travel and after retirement he also enjoyed spending time researching his family tree. Hugh was a direct descendant of a Revolutionary War Veteran, being the great-great-great grandson of Josiah Hoskinson. Hugh’s travels took him all over the United States, Canada, and twice to Europe before he retired. After retirement he and Arliss visited all kinds of interesting places such as Spitzbergen (“Top of The World” in Northern Norway), Australia, Zermatt (Switzerland), and many trips to Las Vegas where he and Arliss enjoyed many buffet meals.
He also enjoyed watching Jeopardy! and eating popcorn and was a huge stickler for proper grammar.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to the City of Hope, www.cityofhope.org
Condolences may be sent to the family through our web site.
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