William Hodny

Honorable William F. Hodny, 93, Mandan, passed away Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at his home, surrounded by his family. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 AM, Wednesday July 8, 2026, at DaWise-Perry Mandan Crematory. Friends and family will gather one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery.

Bill was born, December 3, 1932 in a farmhouse in rural Walsh County. He attended grade school in a one-room country school and in Grafton and Fargo. After three years of high school in Fargo and Lankin, ND, Bill in 1950 enlisted in the United State Air Force at age 17. He spent 2 ½ years in England. Following the Korean Armistice, he was discharged in South Carolina on a Thursday in September of 1953. A quick drive to North Dakota allowed enrollment at UND the following Monday. Seven years at UND yielded a Ph.D. and a Juris Doctor in law

In 1960 Bill came to Mandan and entered a practice of law. In 1967 he was elected Morton County judge. In 1974 he was elected District judge where he remained until retiring 32 years later in 1998. He was then appointed a surrogate judge by the ND Supreme Court and continued in that position until his final retirement in 2016.

His best days were spent training and competing with his English Pointer bird dogs, where he had one field trial champion. He also loved training and riding his Tennessee Walking horses. He had one field trial champion.

Bill married Doris Monson in 1956. They had three children. Doris died in 2007 and, in December of 2010, he married JoAnn Jacobson.

It’s been said that a lucky man is deserving of one good woman, one good dog, and one good horse. Bill admitted he had more than one dog, more than one good horse, and two great women.

Bill is survived by his wife JoAnn; one daughter Tara Lacher Mandan; two sons and two daughters-in-law, Jay and Angie (Hoseth) Hodny, Newark, Delaware, and Lee and Emily Hodny Bismarck, ND; one sister-in-law Jackie Monson Valley City; five grandchildren Caeden Hodny, Laura and Olivia Lacher, Taylor and Dakota Cooper, Kristyn and Drew Schrum; one great grandson Greyson Cooper. Bill is further survived by JoAnn’s children AriAnna Oswald, Timothy and Katie Oswald, and six grandchildren, Austin Wingenbach, Kelsey Wingenbach, Molly Wingenbach, Abbey Wingenbach, Rhett Oswald, and Entzi Oswald.