Cletus Marcel (Pete) Hohn was born on Christmas Day, 1927, and died on the Fourth of July, 2016, in Buffalo, Minn., where he had lived for sometime.
He joined the Marine Corps the day after he graduated from Sauk Rapids High School in 1945, fighting in the Pacific with the First Marine Airwing. Pete used the G.I. Bill to attend St. Cloud State University for two years, before transferring to the University of Minnesota. He became the first journalism graduate from the U of M to major in photography.
He worked as a photographer for 27 years, covering an incredible variety of events and people and winning many awards. His lens captured famous politicians and other notables and sports events, all in great number. In 1963, one of his photos was chosen Picture of the Year by a national news organization.
He retired from the Minneapolis Tribune (now the Star Tribune) in 1982. Pete is survived by his wife, Marilyn Hoegemeyer, and her two sons and their families: Stephan Becerra (Virginia Cabezas) of Omaha, Neb., and Josh Becerra (Sonia Ellis) of St. Anthony Park, and grandchildren Sebastian, Salvador, Magdalena, Isabella and Angelina.
After his marriage to Marilyn, Pete lived in both St. Anthony Park and in his beloved cabin at Fish Trap Lake, near Little Falls/Motley.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Doloris (Hohn) Michalicek; and his brothers, Henry, John, Wilfred and Leo.
A celebration of Pete’s life will be held Friday, Aug. 5, at 2 p.m., at the Minnesota Veterans Cemetery, Camp Ripley, Minn. His final resting site, like his birth site, will be one block from the Mississippi River.
