War hero, family man Hague dies

COEUR d’ALENE — It’s 4:30 in the morning on a gorgeous autumn weekend. Mike Hague is about to go hunting with his dad, Denny, and his dad’s friends.

The weekly tradition brings the men to Leo’s Worley Club for a very early cup of coffee. They drink the joe then go out for a few hours. When they return to the club after a long morning, they each sit down to eat a giant cinnamon roll. It’s Denny’s favorite part of the day.

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Denny Hague died March 31, 2016. The decorated Vietnam war hero was 76.

Hague was born in Kellogg and later moved to Coeur d’Alene, where he found a great group of lifelong friends. They were always getting themselves into mischief, though it was always harmless.

“His sense of loyalty was unparalleled,” said Jim Hawkins, one of Hague’s childhood friends.

“He had friends who would do anything for him,” said another friend, Sandy Emerson.

One of his friend’s dads had a red shop-van. He always left the keys in it, and Hague knew it. They would take the van on weekends when no one would know it was gone and take it around to parties.

Hawkins grew up with Hague and somehow always ended up sitting next to him in class. Hawkins, Idaho’s former director of commerce, said Hague was always good for a joke.

“He was very funny and right to the point,” Hawkins said. “He kept the teachers busy with what he said and did, but never in a bad way.”

Hague graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 1954 then attended the University of Idaho. He was a huge Vandals fan. Partway through his college career he went home to Kellogg to help his mom. She had some health problems. He worked until she got back on her feet, then returned to school where he met Carolyn.

He and Carolyn got married and had kids. Hague joined the Air Force where he was on active duty for seven years and served on 189 combat missions.

“It was a hard year when he was in Vietnam,” Carolyn said. “We had three little kids then — five, three and one and a half. We could only correspond through letter. It was very slow.”

Hague had a very accomplished military career. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in the battle of A Shau Valley March 10, 1966.

He and his family moved around the country to different Air Force bases until he left the Air Force and joined the Air National Guard. He also became a partner at Harris Dean Insurance Agency, where he ran the benefits department for 20 years.

During his time in the National Guard, he moved up the ranks to base commander. His friend, Emerson, remembers the hard work Hague put in to get there.

“He went to all the meetings and took every class that was available,” he said. “When the old base commander was relieved, the next person in line was him. He always said to take every class and every opportunity to improve yourself and get to where you want to be.”

Hague dove in to the Coeur d’Alene community he loved. He was part of so many civic groups and nonprofits, from the NIC Board of Trustees to the Kootenai Health Foundation to the Catholic Parish Council. The list goes on.

While he was working for the insurance agency, a part of the Air National Guard and participating in local civic groups and nonprofits, he was raising his children and adoring his wife.

Hague had two sons and two daughters. He coached them in sports, taught them how to use a baseball mitt and went to as many practices and games he could.

“When you’re a little kid you take that for granted. When you get older you find that’s pretty rare.” his son, Mike, said. “He did it seamlessly. Just trying to replicate that in my life, how’d he do it?”

Mike remembers how visible his dad was in his work clothes. When the Air National Guard did local flights, the pilots wore bright orange jump suits so if they crashed, they would be easier to find.

Denny Hague could be spotted a mile away, leaning on the fence of the practice fields, watching his kids play sports. He taught his kids the words he lived by: “Check your motives and check your procedures.”

“Basically look at what you are doing and make sure it’s a good thing and make sure you’re doing it in the right way,” Mike said. “That was his motto; he lived by it.”

Hague retired in 1995 as a major general and commander of the Washington Air National Guard. In 2014, Hague was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame for “outstanding achievement as a military hero and community leader.”

He was very close to those around him, which seemed like everyone. Wherever he would go, Hague had to talk with everyone he knew. His kids grew to know that if they were at a function or a Vandals game, they weren’t going to leave for a long time.

“With a large family and everything, he managed to maintain loyal friendships,” Mike said. “You always felt like you were the one, you were special to him. He did that with everybody.”

“He always stayed close — our friendships mean everything to us,” Hawkins added. “We’ve all stayed in touch all these years, and that’s a lot of years.”

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Denny Hague sits at Leo’s Worley Club staring down at a giant cinnamon roll. His friends and family will agree: In a way, it’s a mirror of the man — sweet, something that puts people in a good mood, so many good things wrapped into one.

Just like everything else he’d done in his life, Denny Hague dives in.