Jeffrey L. Hoglund

Jeffrey Louis Hoglund, 45, passed November 6, 2019. He was born May 29, 1974, in Rockford, where he was a lifelong resident. Jeff was a beloved husband to Chris Paul Hoglund; son to Bunny Leggero Hoglund and Dale (Bonnie) Hoglund; brother to Joel Hoglund; stepfather to Jamie (Mark) Mangels and Jennifer (Mark) Kalousek; Papa to Cora and Claire Mangels and Owen Kalousek; brother-in-law to Tony (Vilma) Barber, Connie (Dale) Skansgaard, and Kim Ryan; step-brother to Seana (Joe) Horn; and longtime friend to Chris Jensen, James Sills and many others. He graduated from Guilford High School and attended Rock Valley College. Jeff adventured to different parts of the country on formative solo road trips in his old Pontiac Sunbird, before returning to Rockford to found his own company, Hoglund’s Carpet Service, as a young man. He was a hardworking, creative and talented craftsman who was proud to always be his own boss.
As a boy Jeff’s greatest joys were summers playing with his family and many cousins around his Nana and Papa’s pool. As a man Jeff became Papa, hosting family and friends and cheerfully playing with his grandkids around the pool at the home he made with his wife. Above all Jeffrey was a kind, gentle, generous and sensitive soul, always going out of his way to help others, always loyal, always happiest when he could do something to make others happy. Though he lived, as sensitive souls often do, in the shadow of depression for many years, his true spirit was and will always be a brilliant light in the lives of everyone who loved him, guiding us through our grief over his loss to the same place of peace that we pray he has now found.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the family for a memorial bench in the park where Jeff loved to play with his grandkids, and to the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Northern Illinois (https://naminorthernillinois.org/) to support others struggling with depression. Memorial Service 4:00 p.m. Friday, November 15, 2019, at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, 1860 S. Mulford Road, Rockford. Visitation 1:00 p.m. until time of service at the funeral home. Condolences may be submitted at www.fitzgeraldfh.com.